Department for Transport

Schools: Transport

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support his Department offers to children who wish to walk, cycle or use a scooter to travel to school.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



The Department would like to see more children using sustainable ways to travel to school. To encourage more children to cycle we have extended our commitment to Bikeability cycle training to 2015/16 and have recently announced a new pilot scheme to enhance the Bikeability cycle training programme to provide additional training activities to schools and parents. As of March 2013, more than 1 million children have had Bikeability training, and in addition, between April 2013 and March 2015 we expect more than 616,000 further training places to be delivered. The Department is also providing £184,000 for the expansion of the Modeshift STARS school award scheme. The scheme supports increases in sustainable travel to school through a variety of different initiatives ultimately leading to the development of a sustainable school travel plan. In addition, almost two thirds of the projects featured in the Government’s £600m Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme feature the promotion of walking, cycling and / or scooting to schools. One scheme in particular is dedicated to walking to school. The scheme is led by Durham County Council in partnership with Living Streets, and received £4.791m to encourage an increase in walking in eleven local authorities across England. To help make our roads safer around schools we have made it easier for local authorities to implement 20 mile per hour zones and limits, and have provided around £15 million through the Community Linking Places Fund for traffic free and traffic calmed links in communities, including around schools. Furthermore, the Department’s draft Cycling Delivery Plan, published on 16 October, proposes an ambition to increase the percentage of school children aged 5-10 years walking to school to 55% by 2025.

Transport: Devon

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any additional costs to the public purse would arise from designating the route between Exeter and Plymouth as part of the strategic national transport corridor.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency published evidence reports for 18 Route Strategies in April this year, and the route between Exeter and Plymouth (the A38) was covered by the South West Peninsula route strategy. Since publication of the reports, the Agency has identified priority locations for possible future investment and started a programme of preliminary studies to identify options which would address the challenges identified. This hasinformed the investment decisions set out in the Department’s Road Investment Strategy.

Roads: Accidents

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the EU vehicle eCall system will be implemented in the UK.

Claire Perry: The eCall system will be implemented in the UK for new passenger cars and vans through the EU whole vehicle type approval scheme. The wider aspects involving the communication infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). The implementation issues are considered by the DCMS-chaired 999/112 Liaison Committee.

Motorways

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicle breakdowns there have been on smart motorways when the hard shoulder was in use as a running lane.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency does not hold this information. The Highways Agency records details of vehicle breakdowns in ‘live’ lanes. The number of vehicle breakdowns in live lanes within Smart Motorway sections in the last three years are as follows:-2012 – 11,5162013 – 11,1542014 (up to and including November) – 9692

Motorway Service Areas

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) shortest and (b) longest distance is between refuelling stations on the UK motorway network.

Mr John Hayes: The closest spacing between two Motorway Service Areas in England is around 10 miles, and the longest spacing is approximately 35 miles. In the case of the longest spacing, if a driver is short of fuel and has just passed a Motorway Service Area, it is possible for the driver to use the next available junction to return to the service area they have just passed, and would therefore be closer to a service area than this.

Traffic Lights

Mr John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of introducing a flashing amber sequence at certain traffic lights in off-peak hours.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department has no plans to introduce flashing amber at junctions. The Department commissioned a research project looking into ways of making signals operate more efficiently at quiet times. The report is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-traffic-signals-during-low-demand-periods. The research reviewed practice in other countries, including the use of flashing amber overnight. It found countries that use this system are moving away from it and that introducing it led to an increased risk of accidents. There are numerous locations where traffic light signals are only in operation at peak times- for example on roundabouts.

Railways: South East

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the outcomes of his Department's South East Flexible Ticketing Programme.

Claire Perry: The South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme underwent a thorough review in the first half of 2014 to ensure that its approach and scope were designed to deliver the best possible outcomes for passengers and taxpayers. Since this review, good progress is being made but it is too early to judge the outcomes of the programme at this point in time. The Department is committed, however, to undertaking robust evaluations of its programmes. To this end, officials are already exploring options to ensure that, as SEFT is delivered, a rigorous assessment of its outcomes can be produced and lessons learned where necessary. The earliest emerging outcomes are expected from August 2015.

Uber

Mr John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will conduct an investigation into the compliance of Uber with regulations for the operation of taxi firms and the licensing of individual taxi drivers.

Mr John Hayes: While Government is responsible for the overall legislative framework governing taxis and private hire vehicles, responsibility for ensuring that Uber complies with all relevant licensing requirements rests with local licensing authorities.

London Airports

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the future capacity of airports in London.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Coalition Agreement for Government rules out current airport expansion in the South East of England for the life of this Parliament. To ensure our long term connectivity needs can be met, this Government established the independent Airports Commission to identify and recommend to Government options for maintaining this country’s status as an international hub for aviation. Although options for expansion have been shortlisted by the Commission for further examination, its final recommendations are not due to be published until the summer of 2015. The Airports Commission has discussed and is consulting on how airports outside the South East, including Northern Ireland, might be affected by expansion at the shortlisted expansion options. The relevant documents can be found on the Airports Commission website:www.gov.uk/government/organisations/airports-commission It will be for the Government of the day to fully consider the recommendation of the Airports Commission’s final report. In the meantime the Government has announced a Regional Air Connectivity Fund that can be used to maintain domestic air access to London through the establishment of a Public Service Obligation where there is the probability that an existing service would be lost. The fund was further extended in this year’s Budget to include support for new air routes from airports of fewer than five million airports.

Pedestrian Crossings

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his Answer of 10 September 2014 to Question 208314, by what date he intends to complete consideration of whether to update existing guidance on pedestrian crossings.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



The Department still expects to bring the revised Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions into force in 2015. Following this, it plans to update the guidance in the Traffic Signs Manual, including producing a new chapter on traffic signals and pedestrian crossings. A date for publication has not been set.

Official Cars

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) make and model and (b) carbon dioxide output was of each car in the Government Care Service fleet in the last four years; and whether each such car was assigned to Ministers or officials or to both.

Claire Perry: The attached table lists the makes and models of cars in the Government Car Service fleet over the past four years together with the CO2 emissions for each. Pre April 2012 all cars were part of a government car pool and could be booked separately by Ministers and senior officials. Post April 2012 cars were allocated to Departments as Departmental Pool Cars for use by Ministers and senior officials and then managed by each Department. 



table_218534 C02 emissions from the GSC car fleet
(PDF Document, 90.84 KB)

Roads: Accidents

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish reported road casualty figures by severity for each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency for each year from 2003 to 2013.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The attached tables contain reported road casualty figures by severity for each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency for each year from 2003 to 2013. Equivalent tables covering the years 2010 to 2013 are available for the public at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/ras30-reported-casualties-in-road-accidents. These tables are updated each year.  



218560 - Road Causalties by Local Authority
(Excel SpreadSheet, 157 KB)




218560 - Road Casualties by constituency
(Excel SpreadSheet, 954.5 KB)

Home Office

Armed Forces: Libya

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role her Department had in formulating the walking out policy covering Libyan recruits being trained at Bassingbourn barracks; and what role (a) her Department and (b) the police had in monitoring that policy.

James Brokenshire: As an incentive to promote good behaviour and thereby improve the effectiveness of the training programme the Army proposed to allow the trainees some very limited unsupervised access to the local amenities. These proposals were discussed across Government (including the Home Office) prior to implementation. The Home Office requested that the Army liaise closely with Cambridgeshire Police on the monitoring of such visits.

Offences against Children: Databases

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding her Department has provided for (a) the creation and maintenance of the National Hash Set Database and (b) the creation of the Child Abuse Image Database.

Mike Penning: The Home Office has provided £41,000 in 2013/14 and £75,000 in 2014/15 from the National Cyber Security Programme to fund the interim National Hash Set Database, which is run by Cheshire Police. The total cost of the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) over three years to March 2017 is currently £3.3 million, chargeable to UK forces and the National Crime Agency.iNHSD is a single database managed by a single officer in Cheshire Constabulary and includes only basic meta data alongside an image’s ‘hash’ identifier. CAID provides far more features and functionality for multiple users in each force in the UK and NCA-CEOP and will support enhanced analysis.

Torture

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on the prevention of the admission of alleged and proven torturers to the UK.

James Brokenshire: The UK is party to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the optional protocol to that Convention. Torture is illegal in the UK and under international law. Those who have committed crimes abroad that fall under the ICC Statute, including genocide and crimes against humanity, can be tried in the UK if they come here. The Home Secretary may exclude an individual from the UK if their presence here is not conducive to the public good or our national security.

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) average and (b) target time taken between the completion of an immigration tribunal and the implementation of that tribunal's decision is.

James Brokenshire: The information requested in part (a) covers a broad range of casetypes and is not held centrally for in country cases. It could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. For international appeals the average time for allowed appeals to be implemented from January 2014 to September 2014 was 45 calendar days. The Home Office has 14 days to consider whether to appeal an allowed First-tier or Upper Tribunal decision (although this can be longer in some Upper Tribunal decisions where the last avenue to appeal is direct to the Court of Appeal). The relevant unit responsible for implementation will be notified once a decision has been made not to appeal. There are currently no set targets in place governing implementation of appeals.

Film

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many requests from broadcasters her Department has received to film (a) prisons and (b) immigration removal centres in the last five years; and how many such requests have been granted.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not have responsibility for prisons so requests for filming would be made to the Ministry of Justice.We do not have a central record of how many times broadcasters have requested to film immigration removal centres or how many times those requests have been granted.

Counter-terrorism

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times she or Ministers in her Department have met their counterparts in the (a) Welsh Government, (b) Scottish Government and (c) Northern Ireland Executive to discuss the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Bill.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill is an urgently-needed response to the increased terrorist threat. It therefore relates to the matters of counter-terrorism and national security, which are reserved, non-devolved or excepted matters.The Home Office is having ongoing discussions, at both Ministerial and official level, with the Devolved Administrations on the measures within the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill. I have spoken and written to Ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive. On Monday 15 December, the Prime Minister chaired the Joint Ministerial Committee, attended by the First Ministers of each Devolved Administration, at which the Bill was discussed.Consultation with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland continues, particularly in relation to the measures in Part 5 of the Bill (‘Risk of being drawn into terrorism’).

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are employed in her Department's headquarter buildings.

Karen Bradley: The ministers of the Home Department are based in 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1 4DF. As at 30 November 2014, this was the main office location for 3,941 full time equivalent staff.

Immigration Controls

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 4 of page 1 of her Department's publication, Changes to Family Migration Rules Impact Assessment, published on 12 June 2012, if she will ensure that the Government's review of family migration rules planned for April 2015 takes into account the recommendations of the APPG on Migration's inquiry into family migration.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



New Family Migration Rules were implemented on 9 July 2012 to prevent burdens on the taxpayer, promote integration and tackle abuse. We have kept those rules under regular review and have made a number of adjustments to them in light of feedback on their operation and impact, including from Parliamentarians, the public, legal representatives and Home Office staff.We studied the report of the APPG on Migration’s inquiry into family migration when this was published in June 2013. This ongoing review process will continue in April 2015 and will also take into account the findings of the courts on the new policies. This includes the July 2014 judgment of the Court of Appeal in MM and Others, which upheld the lawfulness of the minimum income threshold under the new Family Migration Rules and found that it strikes a fair balance between the interests of those affected and the community in general.

Confiscation Orders

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what value of assets has been recovered from overseas confiscation orders in each of the last seven years.

Karen Bradley: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



This data has not previously routinely been collected in relation to all law enforcement and prosecution agencies. We are examining options to record performance in respect of confiscation orders made by overseas courts recognised and executed against property in the United Kingdom. Our recent adoption of the EU measure on the mutual recognition of confiscation orders, and the deployment of dedicated asset recovery liaison prosecutors to key jurisdictions, will result in an improved ability to assist our international partners on recovering the proceeds of crime located in the United Kingdom.

Email: Fraud

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government's approach to tackling online phishing scams.

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to tackle phishing.

Karen Bradley: The need to tackle cyber crime was identified as a key objective of the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, which is underpinned by £860 million of funding over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP). Around 10% of this has been invested in improving the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to respond to cyber crime.The National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency is responsible for tackling some of the most serious cases of malware - which is often delivered using phishing techniques and which is responsible for infecting computers and stealing banking and other information. This work was undertaken in conjunction with their international partners, to tackle those cyber criminals operating internationally, as well as the cyber teams that have been built in the network of Regional Organised Crime Units throughout England and Wales, also using NCSP funding.The Government is committed to supporting the public and industry to better protect themselves from this type of criminality. The NCSP also funds the Cyber Streetwise awareness campaign, which encourages the public and Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt safer online behaviour. Phase 2 of the campaign launched in October 2014, including a refreshed website with further advice and support. Cyberstreetwise.com has had over 170,000 page views on the updated website since October – this is nearly three times higher than at the same time of phase one.The Government also funds Action Fraud, run by the City of London Police, which is the central reporting point for fraud and financially-motivated cyber crime. This service also provides information on the latest fraud threats, including phishing emails, and individuals can sign up to be alerted when new threats emerge. In December last year, the Government published a set of Guiding Principles with Internet Service Providers which agreed minimum standards for supporting their customers to stay safe online.

Charities

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had on drafting best practice guidelines on the presence of campaigning charities during police searches and arrests.

Mike Penning: An important component of the Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme is the introduction of lay observation. The Scheme’s guidance makes it clear that forces have discretion to determine the most appropriate arrangements to support this. This allows the public, including interested organisations, to observe stop and search in action.

Charities

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with campaigning charities and organisations about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and covert surveillance.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have discussions and meetings with a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of Ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

Email: Fraud

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money obtained unlawfully through phishing scams was recovered in (a) 2014 to date, (b) 2013, (c) 2012, (d) 2011 and (e) 2010.

Karen Bradley: The information requested is not held centrally. The Government is committed to recovering the proceeds of all crimes – there is a commitment in the 2013 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy to pursue criminal finances by making it harder to move, hide and use the proceeds of crime. We are taking forward this commitment by bringing forward improved asset recovery provisions in the Serious Crime Bill, which is currently before Parliament, and we are working with operational partners to ensure that the use of existing asset recovery powers is considered at the outset of all appropriate investigations.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Occupied Territories

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will support proposals in the EU to take action against the Israeli government if it does not rescind the appropriation of 990 acres in Gush Etzion in the West Bank.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are strongly opposed to any attempts to change the facts on the ground in the West Bank by increasing the number of settlers living there. Such acts raise tensions and undermine prospects for peace. During my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories between 5-8 October, I discussed my strong concerns about the issue of settlements and land expropriation with the Israeli Justice Minister on 6 October. Discussions are continuing in Brussels on how the EU can best discourage settlement expansion, and the UK is working closely with other Member States to that end.

Africa

Mr Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping efforts in Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office carries out regular assessments of United Nations peacekeeping missions. These assessments enable us to make recommendations for improvements and influences our negotiating position in the Security Council when drafting or renewing peacekeeping mandates. Nine out of the current sixteen United Nations peacekeeping missions are in Africa. All the missions in Africa face distinctive challenges as a result of the changing nature of the conflicts they are facing, the environment in which they operate or the capacity and capability of their personnel. Peacekeepers are likely to face violence, insurgency, terrorism and the absence of credible state authority. We welcome the announcement in June, by the United Nations Secretary General, of a review of United Nations peacekeeping. The UK will make an active contribution.

Security Guards

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on private security companies in each year since 2010; and what the contractual arrangements were with each such company.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The FCO has spent the following amounts with PSC (Private Security Companies) year by year since 2010: 2010/2011:2011/2012:2012/2013:2013/2014 G4S: £28,916,168 :£30,081,113:£31,391,478:£35,285,387 Control Risks Group: £453,477:£5,573,212:£920,281:£1,208,369 Aegis: £4,211:£183,516:£563,184:£556,920 Minimal Risk :£1,951,611:£1,744,356:£2,122,113:£1,707,150 Gardaworld :£17,291,485:£16,381,944:£17,498,010:£,342,201 PSCs are contracted in a number of countries to carry out a variety of activities and duties including the static protection of premises and the close protection of personnel. They play a vital and necessary protective role in hostile environments, and enable the Government and partner organisations to carry out their work by providing essential security services.

Lighting

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to implement a replacement programme to introduce LED lighting throughout his Department's buildings and sites; if he will estimate the proportion of lighting in his Department which is LED; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to meeting the Greener Government Commitments and to reducing the energy use of its operations. As part of that commitment the FCO continues to replace all obsolete light fittings and fittings that are affected by major refurbishment projects with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), provided a suitable LED variant is available and it represents the best solution for the application.Currently the estimated proportion of LEDs within the FCO’s UK estate is:Carlton Gardens = 65%Hanslope Park = 5%King Charles Street = 20%Lancaster House = 70%Northgate House = 13%Old Admiralty Building = 4%These figures will increase significantly as more LEDs are installed in King Charles Street as part of the FCO’s UK Estate Reform Project, due for completion in 2015. In addition, the FCO’s forward maintenance programme continues to identify any additional areas where LEDs or improved lighting systems can be introduced as more cost effective applications.This response relates to the FCO’s UK estate only. To provide answers on behalf of the FCO’s Diplomatic Missions would incur a disproportionate cost.

Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Catalonia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington: I have not had any recent discussions with the Government of Catalonia.

Iran

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Iran's nuclear enrichment activities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: On 7 November 2014, the IAEA Director General issued his latest report on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme. This report covers Iran's nuclear programme, the IAEA's efforts to address the Possible Military Dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programme (PMD), and the nuclear aspects of the Joint Plan of Action with the E3+3. The report is available on the IAEA’s website at http://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov2014-62.pdf.

United Arab Emirates

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2014 to Question 214857, what estimate he has made of the number of political prisoners in the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold an estimate in relation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Our bilateral relationship with the UAE allows us to discuss important issues like human rights, even if we do not agree. If we have concerns regarding arrests, convictions or sentencing we make these clear to Emirati authorities, as part of our broader strategic engagement.

South Sudan

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart from South Sudan on that country's membership of the Commonwealth; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge: The Foreign Minister of South Sudan last raised their Commonwealth application with my hon friend the member for Boston and Skegness (Mark Simmonds MP), the former Minister for Africa, in June 2014. South Sudan’s application to join the Commonwealth is being assessed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

USA

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government (a) made any requests to and (b) was approached by the US Senate Intelligence Committee or the US administration on redaction of passages in that committee's report about the CIA's detention and interrogation programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The US gave UK Agencies limited sight of some sections of the executive summary prior to its publication. Our Agencies highlighted a small number of issues in the proposed text where changes would be necessary solely to protect UK national security and intelligence operations. None of these redactions related to allegations of UK involvement in detainee mistreatment. We did not lobby, at any level, to have information removed or redacted in relation to UK involvement in rendition or mistreatment of detainees. The UK Government did not receive an advance copy of the report before publication. In July 2010, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) asked Sir Peter Gibson to lead an inquiry into whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In December 2013 the Detainee Inquiry published a report on its preparatory work setting out a series of questions which the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is now considering. This Committee will report to Parliament and to the public on the completion of its work.

Bahrain

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain about the treatment of the democracy movement in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I held discussions on Bahrain’s recent elections at the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group on 4 December with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held similar discussions with the King and Crown Prince of Bahrain during his visit there on 6 December. In both meetings we commended the election of a broad range of candidates, although the opposition political societies decided not to take part. I will continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to build on the success of the elections and move forward with further reform to advance the democratisation and human rights agenda.

Bahrain

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on the release of political prisoners.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We encourage the Government of Bahrain to respect the rights of all peaceful opposition figures. If we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our wider dialogue on human rights and reform.

Bahrain

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Bahrain on the release of Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Embassy in Bahrain raised the case of Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, along with a number of other cases, with the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior in May. Our Ambassador to Bahrain has also raised our broader concerns around detainee rights and prison conditions with HM the King, HRH the Crown Prince and the Minister of Interior.

Somaliland

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote the reintegration of Somaliland into Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: It is for Somalia and Somaliland themselves to determine their future relationship and for neighbouring countries in the region to take the lead in recognising any new arrangements. Following the London Conference in February 2012, which “recognised the need for the international community to support any dialogue that Somaliland and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) or its replacement may agree to establish in order to clarify their future relations”, the TFG and Somaliland met for the first time at Chevening in the UK, in June 2012. They agreed to cooperate on matters of mutual interest. Somalia and Somaliland have held several further rounds of talks in Turkey, at Ministerial level.

Bahrain

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with human rights groups on the decision to allow Prince Nasser bin Hamad access to the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I have not held any discussions with human rights groups regarding Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. In October, the Crown Prosecution Service could not sustain its finding that Sheikh Nasser had been immune from prosecution when he visited the UK in 2012. Regardless of this finding on immunity, the police had in any event concluded that there was insufficient evidence to take any further action. Sheikh Nasser has since visited the UK. Bahrain remains a close partner of the UK, and Sheikh Nasser continues to be welcome here.

Bahrain

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage democratic change in Bahrain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I held discussions on Bahrain’s recent elections at the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group on 4 December with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) held similar discussions with the King and Crown Prince of Bahrain during his visit there on 6 December. In both meetings we commended the election of a broad range of candidates, although the opposition political societies decided not to take part. I will continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to build on the success of the elections and move forward with further reform to advance the democratisation and human rights agenda.

Mauritania

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the government of Mauritania on the detention of Mr Biram Dah Abeid and his associates.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the recent arrest of Mr Biram Abeid and other anti-slavery activists. We are following this case closely and have met a wide range of those involved, including members of Mr Biram’s organisation. We discussed this issue with EU partners on 3 December 2014.We will continue to engage with Mauritania on human rights issues and work closely with our international partners represented in Nouakchott including diplomatic institutions, the UN, EU and African Union.

USA

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) detention and Interrogation Program, what assessment he has made of the treatment of CIA detainees; and whether any detainees were transported through the UK in the conditions described in the study.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The account of the treatment of some detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as reported by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is troubling. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has stated, after 9/11 there were things that happened that were wrong, and we should be clear about the fact that they were wrong.In July 2010 the Prime Minister asked Sir Peter Gibson to lead an Inquiry into whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In December 2013, the Detainee Inquiry published a report on its preparatory work setting out a series of questions which the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is now considering. The Committee will report to Parliament and the public on completion of its work.This Government also took the important step of publishing the Consolidated Guidance in 2010 on the obligations of our agencies and the Ministry of Defence in relation to detainees held overseas. The Intelligence Services Commissioner is tasked to monitor compliance with this – a role we have recently put on a statutory footing.The UK Government stands firmly against torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment. We do not condone it, nor do we ask others to do it on our behalf.The US Government has assured us that there have been no cases of rendition through the UK, our Overseas Territories including Diego Garcia (British Indian Ocean Territory), or the Crown Dependencies since 11 September 2001, apart from the two cases in 2002, about which the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the then Member for South Shields, Mr Milliband informed the House in 2008.

USA

Mr George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish details of any complicity or involvement by the UK Government while Tony Blair was Prime Minister over rendition, interrogation and detention by the Central Intelligence Agency which have been redacted from the report by the US Senate intelligence committee.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The US gave UK Agencies limited sight of some sections of the executive summary prior to its publication.Our Agencies highlighted a small number of issues in the proposed text where changes would be necessary solely to protect UK national security and intelligence operations. None of these redactions related to allegations of UK involvement in detainee mistreatment.We did not lobby, at any level, to have information removed or redacted in relation to UK involvement in rendition or mistreatment of detainees. The UK Government did not receive an advance copy of the report before publication.In July 2010, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the member for Witney (Mr Cameron) asked Sir Peter Gibson to lead an inquiry into whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment, or rendition, of detainees held by other countries in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. In December 2013 the Detainee Inquiry published a report on its preparatory work setting out a series of questions which the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament is now considering. This Committee will report to Parliament and to the public on the completion of its work.

Cabinet Office

Travel

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.

Mr Francis Maude: The detailed information requested for the period since 2009 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Information about Cabinet Office Ministerial and senior travel is published quarterly and can be found at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-with-external-organisationsor for all previously published lists at:http://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-cabinet-office

Procurement: EU Law

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the responses to the consultation on the transportation of 2014 EU Procurement Directives and training materials for procurement professionals; when he plans to give a date to publish the Government's response to that consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Francis Maude: The Government’s consultation on implementing the 2014 EU Procurement Directives took place between 19 September and 17 October 2014. We expect to publish our response early in the new year.Progress on the transposition of the directives can be followed on GOV.UK at:https://www.gov.uk/transposing-eu-procurement-directives

Serco

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) correspondence and (b) discussions he has had with Serco on that company's review conducted by Lord Gold; whether he has received a copy of that report; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Francis Maude: As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.   The Government takes a rigorous and robust approach to performance issues with suppliers. Following the material concerns that emerged last year, the Government achieved a settlement with Serco to recompense taxpayers of £70.5m excluding VAT. Serco have developed and are implementing a thorough plan for corporate renewal. Following scrutiny by officials, as well as independent assurers, the Government has accepted that current action being taken by Serco represents the right direction of travel. We will continue to monitor progress. I have not received a copy of Lord Gold's report, which I understand to be an internal inquiry.

Internet

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) gender, (b) demographic, (c) age and (d) regional profile of people who do not (i) have access to broadband and (ii) have the skills to be comfortable online.

Mr Francis Maude: The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) are leading on providing superfast broadband to at least 95% of premises in the UK by 2017 and providing universal access to standard broadband, through Broadband UK.The Government Digital Service, in Cabinet Office, is currently conducting further research on those lacking digital skills. This research will provide departments with a better understanding of the support requirements of Digitally Excluded and Assisted Digital users in the UK.

Attorney General

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Attorney General, how many staff are employed in the Law Officers' Departments headquarter buildings.

Mr Robert Buckland: The table below shows the recorded number of staff employed in the Law Officers' Departments’ who work in the main headquarters buildings:   DepartmentBuildingStaff Headcount (1)Attorney General’s Office20 Victoria Street, London37Treasury Solicitor’s DepartmentOne Kemble Street, London872HM Crown Prosecution Service InspectorateOne Kemble Street, London23Serious Fraud Office2-4 Cockspur Street, London350Crown Prosecution Service (2)Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London945 (1) The data provided only covers permanent staff and those employed on fixed term contracts. (2) The CPS also has two additional regional headquarters buildings in Wakefield and York.

Tickets: Fraud

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Attorney General, how many people were (a) investigated, (b) referred to the Crown Prosecution Service and (c) successfully prosecuted for crimes related to ticket fraud in the last full year for which figures are available.

Mr Robert Buckland: Criminal investigations are undertaken by the Police. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any record of volumes of criminal investigations of ticket fraud offences . The CPS also does not record the number of suspects referred to it, or defendants prosecuted, for offences related to ticket fraud. This could encompass a wide range of offences and to obtain details of the number of suspects referred and defendants prosecuted for offences related to ticket fraud, would require a manual review of individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) the Law Officers' Departments, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Buckland: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to parliamentary question 217821 given to her by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the 15th December 2014.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Regeneration

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what investment in regeneration projects the Regeneration Investment Organisation has secured in the last six months.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 28 November 2014



Having built up a ‘shovel ready’ pipeline of 41 projects within 12 months, UK Trade and Investment’s Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO) will shortly announce its first win for this financial year. RIO hopes to deliver two more project wins this financial year.   Beyond this, RIO’s £112bn long-term pipeline has the potential to create 640,000 jobs. 41 out of a total 180 projects have undergone technical investment evaluation and this number will soon rise to 100 verified projects. RIO has prioritised its overseas investors from 7 key markets and continues to support investment and supply chain development into ongoing projects such as Manchester Airport City and Battersea Power Station.

Iron and Steel

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last met or spoke to representatives of the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels regarding the traceability and certification of Chinese and Turkish steel products imported to the UK.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 27 November 2014



The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has maintained close contact with the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) who investigated a complaint about CARES from UK Steel about labelling and traceability of imports.   UKAS concluded that CARES responded in an appropriate way to the concerns raised, in line with the expectations and requirements of the accreditation standard. That conclusion has been communicated to UK steel and to the All Party Parliamentary Group on steel.   We understand from UKAS that there has been an increase in CARES’ vigilance with increased sampling and checks.   I have also been advised that, as a result of ongoing discussions between CARES and UK Steel, the association supplied samples of imported rebar and CARES testing found it was non-compliant. As a consequence we understand CARES visited the Chinese steel mill and conducted further sampling and testing but found no evidence of stock production being non-compliant.

Productivity

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve productivity.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 09 December 2014



Government policy focuses on delivering growth; this in turn partly depends on longer term improvements to productivity. As such, much of the Government’s economic policy is about raising productivity, including but not limited to:   Tax cuts: Government is actively working to reduce the tax burden where possible to help give businesses the confidence to invest and grow. Initiatives announced at this year’s Autumn Statement include a doubling of the Small Business Rate Relief for a further year, and a continued cap on the annual increase in business rates at 2% from April 2015 to March 2016. More widely the UK now has the lowest headline corporate tax rate in the G7 and 4th lowest in the G20. Budget 2013 announced further measures to reduce the main corporate tax rate to 20% by 2015.   Deregulation: Government departments are working together to simplify and reduce the regulatory burden for UK businesses through the Red Tape Challenge, One In, One Out , and One In, Two Out policies. This will create a regulatory environment in which businesses have the confidence to invest and grow. This work is already showing significant signs of success; excluding EU regulation, the estimated annual net cost of regulation to UK business has fallen by £1.5bn since 2011.   Skills: Ensuring employers have access to workers with the right skills plays a crucial role in enhancing the UK’s productivity. This Government has driven up participation in education, employment or training for 16-24 year olds since 2011. Apprenticeship participation has risen by 77% from 2009/10 to 2012/13, and there have been over 2 million Apprentices started since 2010.   The Government is giving employers more direct control over the design and delivery of training solutions to address skills shortages and improve business performance through the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) and its successor Employer Ownership Fund (EOF). The Government is completing round 2 of EOP which will be worth £238m and has announced targeted activity for the auto supply chain and engineering under EOF.   Infrastructure: High quality infrastructure is essential for supporting productivity growth. Delivering the right infrastructure at a local, regional and national level, across the UK, is therefore key to the government’s long-term economic plan. Since 2010, this Government has completed 55 major roads and local transport projects, completed major improvements to Kings Cross station as well as 400 other stations, opened Heathrow Terminal 2 and introduced £22 billion of private sector investment in water assets.   The National Infrastructure Plan for 2014 outlines a £466 billion plan for the UK’s infrastructure, of which £189 billion is future investment. This includes £15 billion of road improvements, £38bn investment in rail and £46 billion investment in the gas and electricity network.   Science and Innovation: The government funds and supports innovation in science, technology and engineering to help the UK’s high-tech industries to thrive. This has already seen £600m of government funding committed to the development and commercialisation of eight great technologies, a further £106m investment in new Centres for Doctoral Training, which will train more than 750 new students, and £42m in the creation of the Alan Turing Institute – a world-class research institute specialising in Big Data science. Details of the government’s on-going commitment to science and innovation will feature in the soon to be released Science and Innovation Strategy.

Iron and Steel: Wales

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers to Questions 58 and 86 in his oral evidence of 29 January 2014 to the Welsh Affairs Committee on the steel industry in Wales, HC 882-i, what progress he has made in initiatives to create supply chain groups.

Matthew Hancock: The Government has initiated a supply chain plan policy in the renewable electricity sector. To be able to take part in the allocation process for a Contract for Difference, developers of projects above 300MW must submit a supply chain plan providing evidence that the project will make a material contribution to the economic growth and viability of the industrial supply chain. Any plans assessed by Government to be unsatisfactory would not be allowed to enter the Contract for Difference round. In addition the Offshore Wind Industry Council – a partnership between industry and Government - is taking forward actions from the offshore wind supply chain review conducted by Matthew Chinn that was published last month. Through the industrial strategy programme, we are working in partnership with industry to develop strong supply chains in the UK. We have set out a range of measures in our sector strategies published last year, which we are continuing to deliver.

EU Trade: Trade Agreements

Mr John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many trade negotiations are being conducted by the EU on behalf of the UK.

Matthew Hancock: The European Commission is conducting, on behalf of the UK, nine bilateral trade negotiations, and a number of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation where the EU negotiates on behalf of the UK and the EU.

Business: Procurement

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from small and medium-sized businesses about companies that require a supplier company to make a payment in order to join or to remain on a list of suppliers.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received a number of representations about this issue both from small business representative organisations and from small- and medium-sized businesses themselves. The recent media coverage relating to Premier Foods has prompted an increase in such representations. However, there is not a consensus amongst correspondents: some are in favour of company investment and/ or discount schemes and have explained how they have helped them thrive as a supplier; others are against such schemes and have highlighted the negative impact of their imposition.

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: The estimated annual cost of fraud and financial error in each of the last five years in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and its forty six partner organisations is estimated to be about £50-100m. This represents some 0.5% of total annual BIS spending on average.   Nearly all of this estimated figure relates to the error rate (made by applicants and officials) on student support, although that has declined in successive years from over 1% to some 0.5% in the latest year (2013-14) for which data is available.   The Department and all its partner organisations are now working closely with each other and with other Departments, led by the Cabinet Office, and other organisations inside and outside central government to improve the prevention, detection, measurement and early recovery of losses from fraud and error.   I have asked Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the Hon Member. This information is not held by BIS in respect of non-Departmental Public Bodies. 



Responses from Executive Agencies and NDPBs
(PDF Document, 1.45 MB)




Response from the Met Office
(PDF Document, 195.34 KB)

Employment Tribunals Service

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to introduce a scheme for naming and shaming employers who fail to pay an employment tribunal award.

Jo Swinson: The Government takes very seriously the non-payment of employment tribunal awards. Currently, as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, the Government is proposing a financial penalty for employers that fail to pay awards. We are also ensuring that enforcement options and consequences of non-payment are made clear throughout the dispute resolution process from early conciliation to the tribunal hearing itself.   We will also look to learn the lessons of existing naming and shaming schemes and consider if such a scheme could further encourage prompt payment of employment tribunal awards.

Consumers: Protection

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from (a) consumer organisations and (b) individuals on the effectiveness of Trustmark and NAPIT in protecting consumers from rogue traders.

Jo Swinson: TrustMark (2005) Ltd (TrustMark) operate the TrustMark Scheme. TrustMark aims to marginalise unscrupulous traders by identifying to consumers traders who have been inspected for both trade competence and good trading practice. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) receives a small volume of correspondence from individuals each year relating to TrustMark. These communications are passed to the TrustMark Board to investigate the actions of their Scheme Operators which would include NAPIT should the case arise. The Department does not hold records of communications about specific Scheme Operators as these are audited and monitored by TrustMark and not BIS. In 2011 a consumer body provided views about the scheme to the Department; those views were fed into a review of the scheme which the TrustMark Board undertook in 2013.

EU External Trade: USA

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from the Scottish Government on a possible exemption for the NHS in Scotland negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Matthew Hancock: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment partnership (TTIP) and the NHS have been discussed with the Scottish Government at official and Ministerial level.   Both the European Commission and US negotiators have explicitly ruled out public services from the scope of any market liberalisation in TTIP, and it has therefore not been necessary to discuss any exclusions related to specific public services. The Scottish Government’s ability to determine how publically funded health services in Scotland are provided will not be affected. It will be completely up to the Scottish Government to take decisions on which providers deliver health care services in the best interests of their patients.

Scottish Power

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he received reports from the MacDonald Partnership in relation to mis-sold Scottish Power Power Plan warranties; what the titles of such reports were; and when he plans to respond to those reports.

Jo Swinson: The initial report from Mr MacDonald was received on 17 July 2014 for review by the Insolvency Service. Further information including another more detailed report was received from him during September and October 2014, and these again have been reviewed by the Insolvency Service. The reports are confidential. The reports themselves do not require a direct response but I can confirm that the Insolvency Service has completed its review of this material and is in communication with Mr MacDonald.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has allocated to the CDC Impact Fund; and what assessment she has made of the financial performance of that Fund.

Justine Greening: The Department has allocated up to £75 million to the DFID Impact Fund which is managed by CDC. The DFID Impact Fund will invest in up to 10 impact investment Funds over 13 years.

Overseas Aid

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to evaluation of its Economic Development Strategy.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to page 2 of her Department's strategic framework for economic development for shared prosperity and poverty reduction, published in January 2013, how the £1.8 billion of her Department's budget to be targeted on economic development will be allocated to different activities and countries.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to page 23 of her Department's strategic framework for economic development for shared prosperity and poverty reduction, published in January 2013, which instruments (a) are being and (b) will be used; and what amounts will be allocated to each such instrument.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria her Department will use to evaluate the effectiveness of expenditure under its Economic Development Strategy.

Justine Greening: Regular monitoring to ensure value for money is embedded within all DFID’s economic development programmes; evaluations of programme effectiveness are commissioned where appropriate. Funding for these activities is allocated within each individual programme budget.   DFID uses a range of instruments to deliver the Economic Development Strategy; while programme design is based on an assessment of need and context. In addition, we centrally monitor all economic development spending to enhance portfolio coherence.

Syria

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help children affected by the crisis in Syria.

Justine Greening: The UK has committed 700 million pounds in response to the Syria crisis, which is providing food, medical care and relief items to some of those most affected – including children. At the UN in September I announced a further 50 million pounds of funding specifically for the No Lost Generation Initiative. These funds will provide education, psycho-social support, and protection for Syrian children within Syria and in neighbouring countries.

Palestinians

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department provides financial assistance to Al-Quds University in the West Bank.

Mr Desmond Swayne: DFID does not provide financial assistance to Al-Quds University in the West Bank.

West Africa: Ebola

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent progress her Department has made on tackling Ebola in West Africa.

Justine Greening: The UK is leading the international response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. We have already committed £230m, delivered over 880 treatment and isolation beds, opened three laboratories and doubled the number of burial teams.

South Sudan

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help refugees fleeing conflict in South Sudan.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Almost half a million South Sudanese refugees have fled from the conflict in South Sudan to Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda. £42.5 million has been committed by my Department for support to these refugees through UN agencies and we are closely monitoring the situation.

Overseas Aid

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support British businesses when awarding contracts for overseas projects.

Justine Greening: Contract awards for overseas projects must be run fairly to EU legislation, open to all suppliers. UK companies are very successful in DFID winning over 90% of the centrally managed contracts. We support and encourage UK companies and SMEs through forums with UKTI and FCO.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mr Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on the issue of climate change in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Justine Greening: I am in regular contact with Ministerial colleagues on the issue of climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals. Ensuring that environmental sustainability and climate change are clearly integrated into the Sustainable Development Goals is a key priority for the UK Government.

Africa

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the Foreign Secretary on development in smaller African countries.

Mr Desmond Swayne: Other than the frequent conversations that the Secretary of State is having with the Foreign Secretary about the 3 smaller African countries affected by the Ebola crisis, DFID Ministers have not had any recent discussions with the Foreign Secretary about smaller African countries.

Syria

Sir Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help children affected by the crisis in Syria.

Justine Greening: The UK has committed 700 million pounds in response to the Syria crisis, which is providing food, medical care and relief items to some of those most affected – including children. At the UN in September I announced a further 50 million pounds of funding specifically for the No Lost Generation Initiative. These funds will provide education, psycho-social support, and protection for Syrian children within Syria and in neighbouring countries.

Department for Education

Directors

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of her Department's executive board are (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic background.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold information on the ethnic background reported by executive or non-executive board members separately from the information it holds for the Department in general.

Directors

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of her Department's executive board are disabled.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold information on the number of executive or non-executive board members reporting a disability separately from the information it holds for the Department as a whole.

Directors

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of her Department's executive board are (a) male and (b) female.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education’s board has two female board members and seventeen male board members. The board is made up of the executive board members, four non-executive board members and all of the Department’s Ministers.

Reading: Teaching Methods

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state-funded primary schools whose phonics check results were below the national average have been judged (a) outstanding and (b) good in their most recent Ofsted inspection.

Mr Nick Gibb: Nationally 74 per cent of year one pupils met the required standard of phonic decoding in the 2013/14 academic year. Out of 15,658 state-funded primary schools[1] in England, 6,783 had year one phonics checks results that were below the national average. Of these, 780 schools were judged as outstanding and 4,341 were judged as good schools according to their most recent Ofsted inspection [2],[3],[4] on overall effectiveness.   [1] Defined as schools with pupils with highest statutory age below 12.[2] This covers inspection outcomes of September 2005 to August 2014 published at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/latest-official-statistics-maintained-schools-and-academies-inspections-and-outcomes. The school type of an institution is as of 31 August 2014, which means that schools may have received their rating under a different school type.[3] The inspections have taken place before the 2013/14 phonics results were available to Ofsted (late October 2014). As the phonics check was only introduced in 2011/12, the inspections may have taken place before any phonics results were available to Ofsted.[4] There have been changes in the framework on how schools are inspected and ranked. Prior to September 2012, schools graded 3 were judged as ‘satisfactory’. Since 1 September 2012 they are judged as ‘requires improvement’. From 1 January 2012 inspections of maintained schools have taken place under a new framework, in accordance with sections 5 and 8 of the Education Act 2005. This framework was revised on 1 September 2012 and under the revised framework, schools can be judged as outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

Education: Northern Ireland

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she last met the Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Mr Nick Gibb: Ministers and officials maintain regular contact with the devolved administrations on matters of mutual interest. The Department for Education does not usually publish details of such exchanges.

Pupil Exclusions

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people of what (a) age, (b) sex and (c) ethnicity were excluded from secondary school in (i) Hackney Local Authority area, (ii) London and (iii) England since 2010.

Mr Nick Gibb: The requested information has been provided in the attached document.



Statistical information
(Excel SpreadSheet, 60.01 KB)

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff are employed in her Department's headquarter buildings.

Mr Nick Gibb: As of 30 November 2014, the number of staff employed in each of the Department’s headquarter buildings is as follows: HeadcountSiteLondon1621Sheffield483Darlington427Coventry370Manchester358Nottingham191Bristol33Cambridge8

Travel

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Gibb: The amounts spent on the various categories in question are tabled below: Travel type2010-20112011-20122012-20132013-20142014-2015 *1Taxis£52,816£70,272£63,019£26,004£16,177First class train tickets*2*2£52,842£67,841£55,490Business class air travel£5,556£17,743£13,365£16,658£26,793 We always strive to keep costs as low as possible and get the best out of available funds. *1 from 1 April 2014 to 30 November 2014*2 Rail data for 2010-11 and 2011-12 did not give sufficient and consistent granularity to provide information for class of travel. A different supplier was used to do that in 2012 onwards.

G4S and Serco

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions (a) Serco and (b) G4S have tendered for contracts let by her Department in each year since May 2010.

Mr Nick Gibb: The information is not held centrally and an answer could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Capita

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions Capita Group plc has tendered for contracts let by her Department in each year since May 2010.

Mr Nick Gibb: The information is not held centrally and an answer could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Supply Teachers

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the NUT supply teacher survey 2014, what steps she plans to take to increase the pay of supply teachers employed through agencies.

Mr David Laws: The Government does not set pay rates for supply teachers employed by agencies. The pay and employment conditions of supply teachers employed by private agencies are private commercial arrangements.

Ministry of Justice

Judicial Review

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the contribution of the Secretary of State for Justice on 1 December 2014, Official Report, column 71, what assessment he has made of when and how the system of judicial review ceased to be based on common sense.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government has always been clear that judicial review, when used properly, can be a crucial component of the rule of law. But in the Government’s view, too often the system is open to abuse, and the common sense reforms, which, following two consultations, the Government has implemented and is seeking to implement, are needed to rebalance the system of judicial review. In the Government’s view, for example, the creation of a Planning Court, with the assistance of the judiciary, to speed up the consideration of challenges to key projects, is a common sense reform. That reform is now delivering significant improvements. The available evidence suggests planning judicial reviews are now significantly quicker as a result of the reforms which followed the first consultation and the introduction of the Planning Court in April 2014, which followed the second consultation. For those which reach a substantive hearing (i.e. excluding those refused permission or otherwise determined earlier in the process) the average time fell by around 30% from 54 weeks in the 12 months to April 2013 to 39 weeks in the 12 months to September 2014. This is a substantial improvement in advance of the rest of the reforms taking effect.

Altcourse Prison

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to receive the action plan produced by G4S on strategic weaknesses at HM Prison Altcourse.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service has received the action plan and will monitor its progress closely.

Durham Prison

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what contraband and illegal substances of each type entered HM Prison Durham in each month since May 2010.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service takes the importation of drugs and all other items of contraband into prisons extremely seriously. Prisons deploy a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect such items at the point of entry to the prison. The data below refers to items of contraband and illegal substances discovered having entered HMP Durham. Prisons are required to centrally report all seizures of drugs, mobile phones and firearms/ammunition. Seizures of drugs and mobile phones reported by HMP Durham for the period May 2010 to September 2014, are provided in the table below. No firearms or ammunition were discovered to have entered HMP Durham during this period. Specific records of other items of contraband are not centrally collected in a way which allows statistically accurate data to be provided. Table 1: Seizures of drugs and mobile phones at HMP Durham May 2010 to September 2014MonthDrugsMobile PhoneMay-1020Jun-1001Jul-1036Aug-1023Sep-1003Oct-1002Nov-1016Dec-1002Jan-1102Feb-1102Mar-1101Apr-11151May-1180Jun-1193Jul-11153Aug-11173Sep-11111Oct-11614Nov-11169Dec-11132Jan-12176Feb-12185Mar-12211Apr-12131May-12202Jun-12180Jul-1281Aug-12192Sep-12120Oct-12131Nov-12191Dec-12113Jan-1362Feb-1330Mar-1301Apr-1344May-1331Jun-1320Jul-1315Aug-1316Sep-1330Oct-1300Nov-1300Dec-1300Jan-1440Feb-1410Mar-1430Apr-1410May-1480Jun-1430Jul-1404Aug-1430Sep-1410 Notes:Many drugs are similar in appearance and in many cases drugs seized are not categorically identified by scientific analysis. Some will have been identified using indicative reagent or Marquis tests. Many will have been identified by appearance only. One ‘mobile phone’ find may constitute a handset containing one SIM card or media card, a handset only, or a SIM card only. All figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Magistrates' Courts

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on the refurbishment of magistrates' court buildings in each of the last four years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service are unable to collate the information required to answer the question without a detailed check. I will write to the hon. Member for Hammersmith in due course with the information once it is available.

Legal Costs

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on legal fees in the case The Public Law Project, R (On the Application of) v The Secretary of State for Justice the Office of the Children's Commissioner [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin).

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Hon. Member for Hammersmith is referred to the Attorney General's response to a Parliamentary Question from Sarah Tether (Brent Central), which confirms that disbursements of £61,229.59 (inc. VAT) have been paid by the Treasury Solicitor's Department on behalf of the Ministry of Justice in The Public Law Project, R (On the Application of) v The Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin). This figure includes both proceedings in the High Court and for the appeal to be heard in the Court of Appeal.   The Ministry of Justice is unable to provide the total expenditure in this case, as it is not possible to separate out the legal spend on the litigation from the legal spend on developing the policy and other workstreams.

Legal Costs

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent in legal fees in the case Whitston (Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK), R (On the Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 3044 (Admin).

Mr Shailesh Vara: Mesothelioma is an awful disease which can destroy lives in a frighteningly short amount of time and we want to help sufferers and their families. We are committed to finding the best way to get claims settled fairly and quickly. The Government spent £49, 984.74 (inc. VAT) in legal fees in relation to this judicial review.

Legal Costs

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on legal fees in the case London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association & Anor, R (On the Application of) v The Lord Chancellor [2014] EWHC 3020 (Admin).

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government spent £87, 097.60 (including VAT) on legal fees in relation to the judicial review brought by the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA) and Criminal Law Solicitors Associations (CLSA).

Scotland Office

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office’s main building is Dover House in London. 25 officials are currently based in parts of the building solely occupied by the Scotland Office, along with a small element of office space for Edinburgh based staff, who are required to visit London on official business.

Smith Commission

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he expects to publish draft legislation arising from the recommendations of the Smith Commission.

David Mundell: The Government has committed to producing draft clauses by Burns’ Night, 25 January 2015.

Ministry of Defence

Iraq

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether forward air controllers are directing airstrikes in Iraq.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 17 October 2014



UK personnel in Iraq perform a number of roles. This includes supporting UK and coalition airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq. Iraqi security forces are able to communicate with coalition aircraft through coalition HQs including the Iraqi Joint Operating Centre in Baghdad. Coalition aircraft in Iraq either engage in dynamic targeting, for example responding to Iraqi forces under fire, or in deliberate targeting, when for example attacking previously identified ISIL positions prior to an advance by Iraqi security forces.

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations he has received from the Afghan government on the use of the Royal Air Force to provide close air support for the Afghan National Security forces.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to provide military air support to the government of Afghanistan.

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the provision of close air support by the UK for the Afghan National Security Forces.

Mr Mark Francois: To date, the Afghanistan Government has made no formal representations to the Secretary of State on the use of the Royal Air Force to provide close air support to the Afghan National Security Forces.

Army: Sexual Harassment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2014 to Question 215063, on Army: sexual harassment, whether he expects (a) the review of the results of that survey to be complete and (b) the survey to be placed in the Library before the next Service Commissioner's report is published in 2015.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 10 December 2014



In my answer of 21 November 2014 to question 215063, I stated that Ministry of Defence officials were still reviewing the results and were due to provide advice early in the New Year. I therefore expect a decision on placing the survey in the Library to be taken before the next Service Commissioner's report is published in 2015.

Afghanistan

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what continuing military support he plans to provide to Afghanistan.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 11 December 2014



Around 470 personnel are based in Kabul to lead mentoring at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy and as advisors to support institutional development at the Afghan security ministries. Their work towards sustaining the ANSF, which will continue until at least 2017, equates to £70 million a year.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evaluation his Department has made of the requirements for radioactive remediation and toxic materials clean up at the (a) uranium mines abroad from which the UK obtained the uranium used in military nuclear programmes and (b) sites where British nuclear warheads were tested in (i) Australia, (ii) Christmas Island and (iii) Nevada.

Michael Fallon: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Defence Equipment and Support

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of salaries of (a) civil servants and (b) military personnel in the Defence Equipment and Support section in each year since 2010.

Mr Julian Brazier: Salary costs for Civil Servants and Military personnel in Defence Equipment and Support since 2010 are published online as part of the Government's transparency agenda and are available at the following links:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355234/20140620-HOCS-JUNIOR-organogram-April-2014.csv/previewhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355244/20140609-DES-JUNIOR-organogram-April-2014.csv/previewhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/organisation-charts-june-2010-to-february-2011

Defence Equipment and Support

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department is of basic training for a civil servant in the Defence Equipment and Support section.

Mr Julian Brazier: There is no single package of basic training provided for Civil Servants in Defence Equipment and Support. It is not therefore possible to determine an associated cost. A mix of training is provided which is based around the Civil Service Competency Framework, supplemented by additional learning and development depending on an individual's job role and responsibilities, grade, experience, functional and professional specialism. A significant proportion of training is provided internally and online through the Defence Learning Portal and Civil Service Learning. External training providers are used for specialist and continued professional development training where this cannot be provided internally within the Ministry of Defence or the wider Civil Service.

Defence Equipment and Support

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) proportion and (b) number of staff working for his Department in the Defence Equipment and Support section in each year since 2010 had been trained militarily in the UK armed forces.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions, (c) employer's National Insurance contributions and (d) operational allowances for all ranks of officers in each of the armed forces in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Special Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for Special Forces is in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for Special Forces was in each of the last five years.

Mr Mark Francois: It is the long-standing policy of the Government to not ordinarily comment on UK Special Forces

Armed Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are working for (a) Defence Equipment and Support, (b) the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and (c) the Defence Support Group.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular service men and service women there are in each rank of the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) RAF.

Anna Soubry: The requested breakdown is provided in the attached table.  



218177 - UK Regular Forces by Service
(Word Document, 96.5 KB)

Afghanistan

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what British personnel have been based in Afghanistan since the conclusion of the British forces combat mission in that country.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are based at (a) Army HQ, (b) Navy HQ, (c) RAF HQ, (d) Joint Forces HQ and (e) MoD Main Building.

Anna Soubry: The approximate number of UK Regular Forces personnel stationed at each of the requested locations as at 1 October 2014 is provided in the following table. Army HQ1,060Navy HQ510RAF HQ1,330Joint Forces Command HQ1,000MOD Main Building740 Notes:UK Regular Forces includes all trained and untrained personnel. Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve personnel, and mobilised reservists are excluded.Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Armed Forces

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of serving personnel in the Army, Navy and RAF in non-front line roles.

Anna Soubry: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All Armed Forces personnel contribute to the delivery of Defence outputs, and the term 'non-front line role' is too non-specific to be the basis for precise analysis.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what accommodation will be constructed at the UK's new naval base in Bahrain; and how much of this will be allocated to the families of service personnel.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the docking capacity will be of the UK's new naval base in Bahrain.

Michael Fallon: The new development at the UK base in Bahrain will support a range of Royal Navy ships deployed to the region, and those that pass through, in support of our defence interests.

Aircraft Carriers

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has for use of the UK's new aircraft carriers by US Navy and Marine Corps aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The US Marine Corps operate the F-35B Lightning aircraft, the same aircraft we will operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers. We are exploring options for cooperation.

Bahrain

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Status of Forces Agreement between the UK and Bahrain has been amended as a result of the UK naval base in Bahrain.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



It has. The Arrangement which the UK signed with Bahrain concerning naval basing also changed the jurisdiction arrangements that apply to UK military personnel who are serving in Bahrain. From 1994 until 2014, the UK had exclusive jurisdiction over military personnel in Bahrain. This changed when the basing Arrangement was signed. As a result there is now concurrent jurisdiction, which recognises that both UK and Bahraini law applies to UK military personnel serving in Bahrain. The Arrangement contains a mechanism to allow the UK and Bahraini authorities to determine which set of national laws should be applied to a member of the UK Armed Forces if it is alleged that they have committed a crime.

Department for Work and Pensions

Carer's Allowance: Moray

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Moray constituency are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Perth and North Perthshire constituency are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Dundee East constituency are in receipt of carer's allowance.

Mr Mark Harper: Statistics on Carer’s Allowance are published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool Guidance for users is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

Universal Credit: Scotland

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects Universal Credit to be fully rolled out in Scotland.

Mr Mark Harper: In the Written Statement (link below) of 13 October 2014 the Secretary of State confirmed plans for the next stage of implementing Universal Credit to all remaining jobcentres and local authorities across Great Britain through 2015-16.http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/2014-October/13th%20October/17.DWP-welfare-reform.pdf

Post Office Card Account

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each transaction for benefit payments paid into a Post Office card account in Northern Ireland; and what that cost is in other regions of the UK.

Steve Webb: The cost to Government for making benefit payments into a Post Office Card Account is around £0.50 for each transaction. The cost is the same for Northern Ireland and UK payments. The contract is volume banded so this cost will vary according to the number of transactions.

Occupational Health

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the Fit for Work service can be offered to people who are (a) on long-term sick leave and (b) otherwise in employment.

Mr Mark Harper: There are two elements to Fit for Work. Once an employee has reached, or is expected to reach, four weeks of sickness absence they will normally be referred by their GP for an assessment to look at all the issues preventing the employee from returning to work. Fit for Work will also offer work-related health advice, through a dedicated website and telephone line, to all GP’s, employers and employees across Great Britain.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

Steve Webb: DWP employs 90,577 people, and as of 30 November 2014 there were 7579 staff based across 8 headquarter sites.

Personal Independence Payment

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment claimants will be seen for a medical assessment within 16 weeks by 31 December 2014.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Work Capability Assessment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the procurement for a new provider to deliver the work capability assessment requires the design of that scheme to be revised or reformed.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with dependent children claiming employment and support allowance have been sanctioned since December 2012; and how many such households have subsequently had their sanction rescinded.

Mr Mark Harper: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in households with dependent children claiming jobseeker's allowance have been sanctioned since October 2012; and how many such people have subsequently had their sanction rescinded.

Esther McVey: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 8 December 2014 to Question 217129, in what circumstances universal credit claimants will be permitted to undertake paid work which is regarded as therapeutic.

Mr Mark Harper: Universal Credit replaces the complex ‘Permitted Work’ rules that apply to ESA with clear work incentives for disabled people through generous work allowances and a single taper. The Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) elements - entitlement to which is based on the outcome of a Work Capability Assessment - are available to claimants both in and out of work, further strengthening the incentives for disabled people to move into work. These measures reflect the Government's strong commitment to help more disabled people into work, and employment now stands at a record level.

Access to Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason self-employed people are not eligible for Access to Work support.

Mr Mark Harper: Self-employed people are eligible for Access to Work support.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in households with dependent children claiming jobseeker's allowance have been sanctioned in each year since October 2012; and how many people in households with dependent children claiming employment and support allowance have been sanctioned in each year since December 2012.

Esther McVey: The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Mr Michael Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken, since the debate in the House on legislation of the sale of puppies and kittens on 4 September 2014, to brief local authorities on the requirements for people in the business of breeding dogs to obtain a relevant licence.

George Eustice: As I promised during the debate, my Department has written to all local authorities reminding them that the overriding factor when considering whether a dog breeder should be licensed is whether they are in the business of breeding and selling dogs. We also pointed out that local authorities can add conditions to individual pet shop licences restricting the species of animals sold. I have placed a copy of the letter in the House libraries. 



letter to Local Authorities
(PDF Document, 179.8 KB)

Food Banks

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she and Ministers in her Department have visited a foodbank.

George Eustice: Defra Ministers have visited food banks several times over the past 18 months.

Gun Sports

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a consultation on a licensing scheme for commercial game shooting.

George Eustice: Landowners are free to run commercial shoots on their land, provided they are carried out appropriately and legally. We have no plans to introduce a licensing system for commercial shoots, or to consult on the matter.

Gun Sports

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will (a) discuss with her counterpart in the Scottish Government the effect of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 and (b) publish a consultation on vicarious liability for landowners who host commercial game shooting in England.

George Eustice: The introduction of new legislation requires evidence that it will be effective. We are not yet aware of any successful prosecutions or of any compelling evidence that the introduction of the provisions of vicarious liability in Scotland has had a significant deterrent on those who commit wildlife crime.   We will continue to monitor the situation in Scotland and to consider whether this or a similar offence is necessary and proportionate to assist in tackling wildlife crime in England.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the value for money of payments to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy.

George Eustice: The following documents have been placed in the Library.   In October 2013, alongside the public consultation, Defra published an evidence paper which assessed the impact of the new Common Agricultural Policy and the costs and benefits of payments made to farmers. https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/cap-consultation.   Since then a number of more technical implementation decisions were announced and on 11 December 2014 the Common Agricultural Policy Basic Payment and Support Schemes (England) Regulations 2014 No. 3259 were laid in Parliament. Included in the explanatory memorandum to the legislation is a further evidence paper updating some of the analysis and providing further analysis of the impact of some of the more technical decisions. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3259/memorandum/contents   In addition, an impact assessment of the new Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) was published in June 2014 setting out the evidence base on the costs, benefits and value for money. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strategic-environmental-assessment-of-the-proposed-new-rural-development-programme-in-england

Water: EU Law

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on increasing the number of areas where the requirements of the Water Framework Directive are being complied with.

Dan Rogerson: Implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a devolved matter. In England, the Environment Agency is the competent authority for implementing the WFD. It has complied with all relevant requirements in the eight river basin districts for which it is responsible by the relevant deadlines and has reported on progress, as required, to the European Commission.   In England, £3.4 billion is being invested by water companies between 2010-2015 to protect and improve our water environment. By 2015 we expect to reduce phosphate pollution from sewage works by a further fifth and ammonia by a sixth compared to 2010. In addition, the Government has invested £88 million on action to restore our rivers, covering more than 15,000 km of river (more than the Amazon and Nile Rivers laid end-to–end), improving the status of 429 water bodies, and preventing deterioration of a further 137 water bodies.

White Fish: Conservation

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) an increase of minimum landing size, (b) an end to commercial harvesting during the spring spawning period, (c) restrictions on pair trawling and trammel netting and (d) an expansion of estuarine nursery areas as tools for the preservation of sea bass stocks.

George Eustice: Bass management measures for 2015 including these factors were discussed at an EU level on 15 and 16 December at the Fisheries Council but unfortunately agreement was not reached.   We will continue to press for EU action while reviewing our national measures. An earlier assessment by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science on increasing the minimum landing size for bass, entitled “Effects of improved fishery selection pattern and increased MLS on European sea bass” is available in the House Library.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people were prosecuted under the Breeding and Sale of Dogs Acts in 2013; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: There were no prosecutions under the Breeding and Sale of Dogs Acts in 2013.

Fishing Catches

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to a letter sent from her Department, ref. MC355113/RGW, what proportion of overall catch of (a) the 12 vessels from the UK that use bottom trawler gear below 600 metres and (b) the eight vessels from the UK that use bottom trawler gear below 800 metres was caught by bottom trawling and not mid water trawl in the last five years.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's letter, reference MC355113/RGW, how many tons of fish and shellfish (a) the 12 vessels from the UK using bottom trawler gear have caught below 600m and (b) the eight vessels from the UK using bottom trawler gear have caught below 800m in the last five years.

George Eustice: The information will be placed in the House Library

Travel

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: The table below sets out information for the Core Department in respect of financial years 2009-10 to 2013-14 (the last complete year for which audited information is available).   The system the Department had in place for booking rail and air travel in the period prior to May 2012 did not provide management information on the class of travel. Information on first class train tickets and business class air travel up to and including April 2012 is therefore not held by the Department, and the figures for 2012-13 in this table reflect eleven rather than twelve months’ expenditure.   Some journeys use different classes of ticket for different legs of the journey. These are known as mixed tickets and have been excluded from these figures as it is not possible to identify the element relating to business class travel.   £’0002009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14(a) Taxis480229636372(b) First Class Train Tickets------1311(c) Business Class Air Travel------174201

Flood Control

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to address river and flood defence asset maintenance in response to the report published by the National Audit Office, entitled Strategic Flood Risk Management, HC780, last month.

Dan Rogerson: Maintaining flood defence assets depends on a combination of capital and revenue funding. This Government is spending £3.2 billion on flood management and defences in this Parliament, which is a real terms increase and half a billion pounds more than in the previous five years.   We have committed a record level £2.3 billion capital funding right up until 2021. This is a real terms average increase in capital investment compared with the current spending review period and the long-term commitments will allow us to get better value for money. We have also provided an extra £70 million of revenue funding for the Environment Agency to maintain its defences: £35 million this year and £35 million next year, on top of the £5 million we had already committed in 2015/16 before the winter storms.   The National Audit Office report ‘Strategic Flood Risk Management’ was considered by the Public Accounts Committee on 24 November. The Government will respond to the Committee’s recommendations in early 2015.

Flood Control

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to facilitate communities wishing to take over the maintenance and running of flood defence systems in areas where the Environment Agency is withdrawing; and if she will permit the funding of a local authority special levy for new internal drainage boards (IDBs) on the same basis on which her Department funds those authorities within the boundaries of existing IDBs.

Dan Rogerson: It is important that the Environment Agency is able to focus its efforts and resources in those areas where the risk of flooding to communities, businesses and property are greatest.   In the areas where the Evironment Agency is withdrawing from land drainage activities, the Agency is committed to working closely with landowners, farmers, householders and businesses to help them consider the options available to them for taking over the maintenance activities.   We feel that, in these areas, responsibility for local watercourse management sits more appropriately with expert local bodies, including local authorities and IDBs as well as riparian owners, since these bodies are best placed to take decisions on local priorities in discussion with their communities.   We are keen to enable these bodies, and individuals, to act effectively in partnerships at a local level to achieve the outcomes that communities want to see. We are engaged in a range of actions to make it easier for farmers and landowners who wish to undertake their own de-silting and channel maintenance activities. We also very much welcome the establishment of IDBs where these are proposed and supported by the local community.   We recognise the challenges associated with raising funds for flood risk locally, including for the establishment of new IDBs, and are continuing to explore options in this area together with the Department for Communities and Local Government

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) her Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Rt. Hon. Member for Horsham to PQ UIN 217821 on 15 December 2014.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness: Barnsley

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people in Barnsley East constituency were homeless in the latest period for which figures are available.

Kris Hopkins: The statistics are collected at local authority level, rather than Parliamentary constituency. The latest statistics for the period April to June 2014 show that fewer than 5 households were accepted by Barnsley local authority as being owed a main homelessness duty and in total there were fewer than 5 households in temporary accommodation at the end of June. National and local authority data for homelessness are published on the Department's website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessnessHomelessness remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years. Since 2010 this Government has invested over £500 million to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness and rough sleeping. The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.

Kris Hopkins: At 31 October 2014, 1,157 staff were employed at the Department's 2 Marsham Street headquarters building. This is 69.1% of the Department's staff.

Disability Aids

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to reclaim and re-use disability adaptations and equipment that are no longer required by clients.

Kris Hopkins: The Department for Communities and Local Government funds “Foundations” to act as the national body for home improvement agencies. Part of the national body’s role involves working with local home improvement agencies, including those provided by local authorities, to improve the provision of adaptations and encouraging best practice such as recycling and reusing adaptations and equipment where possible.

Wales Office

Food Banks

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when he has visited a foodbank.

Stephen Crabb: My ministerial team and I have visited food banks on a number of occasions over the last year.I have close links with my local food bank, PATCH, of which I am a former trustee. I have supported PATCH in a number of different ways since it was founded in June 2008.

HM Treasury

Royal Bank of Scotland

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has received any information from UK Financial Investments Ltd in respect of the (a) operation by RBS of its Global Restructuring Group (GRC) as a profit centre for the bank and (b) implications of the operations of the GRC for small business customers of RBS.

Andrea Leadsom: We have not received information from UK Financial Investments (UKFI) relating to the operation of RBS’s Global Restructuring Group (GRG) as a profit centre for the bank.   Similarly, we have not received information from UKFI relating to the implications of the operations of GRG for small business customers.   As you are aware, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently investigating the operations of GRG in relation to its treatment of business customers in financial difficulty. If the FCA identifies issues which come within its remit, it will consider further regulatory measures.

Tax Avoidance: Construction

Mr Gareth Thomas: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the tax revenues lost from the use of umbrella companies in the construction industry; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is concerned at the growing use of overarching contracts of employment by employment intermediaries such as “umbrella companies”. The Government will review these arrangements and has published a discussion document inviting representations from interested parties to inform potential future action.There is no estimate of tax revenue lost from the use of umbrella companies in the construction industry alone

Joint Exchequer Committee

Michael Moore: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which dates the Joint Exchequer Committee has met; which Ministers from the Government and the Scottish Government attended each such meeting; what the agenda was for each such meeting; and what other topics were discussed at each such meeting.

Michael Moore: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the date was of each meeting of the Finance Quad in each calendar year from 2010; which Ministers from the (a) Government and (b) devolved administrations took part in each such meeting; what the agenda was for each such meeting; and what other topics were discussed at each such meeting.

Danny Alexander: In this Parliament, the Finance Ministers’ Quadrilateral met on the following dates:   15 July and 15 September 2010 14 July 2011 5 March and 8 November 2012 3 June and 18 November 2013   The agenda for Finance Quadrilateral meetings typically covers an update on the UK economy and the circumstances of each of the devolved administrations, as well as examining practical and technical arrangements relating to devolved funding. A list of agenda items covered at each meeting is included in the Annual Reports of the Joint Ministerial Committee.   Treasury Ministers and Finance Ministers from each of the devolved administrations also maintain regular contact throughout the year covering a range of matters of mutual interest

Succession

Norman Baker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been received by the Sovereign in each of the last 30 years as a result of people (a) dying intestate and (b) making specific bequests in favour of the Sovereign in the Duchy of Lancaster.

Danny Alexander: The Sovereign has received no direct benefit from bona vacantia since 1988. The Privy purse benefited by £339k in 1984/85, £468k in 1985/86, £418k in 1986/87 and £497k in 1987/88.   Since 1988 proceeds from bona vacantia have been used to pay late claims and the balance has been divided between three charities established to receive these funds which are the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund (supporting charities within the County Palatine or where the Duchy has landed or historical interests in England and Wales), the Jubilee Trust (which supports The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy and other heritage buildings owned by the Duchy) and the Duke of Lancaster Housing Trust (which provides rural affordable housing).   b). The Duchy has not kept a record of any specific bequests in favour of the Duchy in the course of the last 30 years. If such a bequest were to be received, and in the absence of specific conditions attached to it, it is highly likely that the funds would be transferred to one of these Duchy charities.

National Debt: Gifts and Endowments

Norman Baker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library copies of the bank statements of the donations and bequests account held by the Commissioner for the Reduction of the National Debt at the Bank of England in the last 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government believes it would not be appropriate to provide daily bank statements to the House Library for both efficiency and confidentiality reasons, but will provide copies of the annual accounts for the Donations & Bequests Fund for the past 10 years.

Individual Savings Accounts

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.219 of the Autumn Statement 2014, what will happen to any dividends or interest accruing from ISAs transferred between spouses upon death before the whole has been legally transferred.

Mr David Gauke: Under the changes announced at Autumn Statement, the income from the ISA assets during the period between date of death and distribution of assets at probate will still be taxable.   The government is committed to exploring what can be done to extend the ISA tax advantages into the administration period, and will look to legislate in the next Parliament to do so.

Disabled Staff

Simon Kirby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Treasury publishes details on the diversity of its employees by pay range, including information on disability. The most recent information is in the Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14 page 50, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-annual-report.   These data are based on the number of employees who have chosen to individually record their disability status on the departmental HR system. Any such declaration is voluntary and confidential.

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Andrea Leadsom: Spend on consultants, temporary staff, and contingent labour for each of the last five years is published monthly as part of the Workforce Management Information. These can be found at:  http://data.gov.uk/dataset/hm-treasury-workforce-management-information   https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management--2   Information on how many people have been so employed; what length of contracts of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band was on which they were could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Older Workers

Simon Kirby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: HM Treasury’s current diversity monitoring data shows there are 10 Treasury employees over 65 years old. Information on the age profile of government departments’ employees is published by the Office for National Statistics http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-375368

London Legacy Development Corporation

Chris Bryant: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.109 in Autumn Statement 2014, what estimate he has made of the cost of VAT refunds for the London Legacy Development Corporation in each year to 2019-20.

Mr David Gauke: Providing London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) with VAT refunds in years 2015-16 to 2019-20 is expected to have a negligible impact on the Exchequer

Taxation: Investment Income

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the amount raised in taxation from carried interest on financial assets in each of the last three years.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is not available.

Unpaid Taxes

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.5 of the HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) summary of responses to the consultation on Direct Recovery of Debts, what estimate he has made of the number of HMRC staff members that will be required to guarantee that every debtor will receive a face-to-face visit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20; and whether those staff will be new or existing HMRC staff.

Mr David Gauke: Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD) is expected to affect around 17,000 debtors each year.   HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a well-established process for making face-to-face visits to debtors who do not pay what they owe. In 2013-14, HMRC’s Field Force agents made around 900,000 visits to debtors.   Some of those who will be considered for DRD would receive a visit from a Field Force officer in the course of normal debt enforcement. Once DRD begins operation, these visits will provide a further opportunity for HMRC to: personally identify the taxpayer and confirm it is their debtexplain to debtors what they owe, why they are being pursued for payment, and discuss payment of the debtdiscuss options to resolve the debt, including offering a Time to Pay arrangement to the debtor, where appropriateidentify debtors who are in a vulnerable position and offer them the support they need to settle their debts. HMRC anticipates that it will absorb the operational cost of DRD visits within its current funding envelope, and the Government has budgeted £800,000 for the systems changes that will underpin the delivery of this measure. HMRC does not expect to recruit additional staff for this purpose.

Unpaid Taxes

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.5 of the HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) summary of responses to the consultation on Direct Recovery of Debts, how many HMRC staff will work in the new vulnerable customers unit in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20; and whether those staff will be new or existing HMRC staff.

Mr David Gauke: The vulnerable customers unit will provide additional support to HMRC customers who owe debts to HMRC and have been identified as vulnerable.  HMRC will review the resourcing of this unit over time, to ensure the Department can respond appropriately to customer demand and from ongoing work with the voluntary sector.

Derelict Land

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of exempting houses on brownfield sites from stamp duty land tax on their first sale.

Mr David Gauke: No such estimate has been made.   HMRC data does not contain any information on brownfield sites. Furthermore it does not contain information on if a transaction is the first sale of a developed site.

Tax Avoidance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the table on page 65 of the Autumn Statement 2014, what proportion of the revenue associated with the income tax: salary sacrifice and expenses including umbrella companies measure he plans will result from reforms to legislation related to umbrella companies in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17, (d) 2017-18, (e) 2018-19 and (f) 2019-20.

Mr David Gauke: The yield from the measure referred to (income tax: salary sacrifice and expenses including umbrella companies) relates to the introduction of a new exemption for qualifying expenses which cannot be used in conjunction with salary sacrifice. This follows a recommendation from the Office of Tax Simplification and a consultation undertaken by HMRC over the summer. Draft legislation for this measure was published on 10th December. The decision to prevent the exemption from being used alongside salary sacrifice schemes will prevent tax loss from employers (including umbrella companies).  The Government will shortly be publishing a discussion document specifically reviewing the use of overarching contracts used by umbrella companies and is separate from the measure referred to above.

Public Expenditure: Greater Manchester

Mike Kane: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount of all government spending in Greater Manchester was in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 to date.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury does not hold the total amount of all Government spending in Greater Manchester. The Department for Communities and Local Government collect detailed information on local authority expenditure, however this does not cover all government spend in Greater Manchester.

High Net Worth Unit

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the staffing levels of the High Net Worth Unit in HM Revenue and Customs were in each of the last four years.

Pamela Nash: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what yield was generated to HM Revenue and Customs by the High Net Worth Unit in each of the last four years.

Mr David Gauke: High Net Worth Unit compliance yield outcomes for each of the last four years were:  Yield2010/11£162,000,000 (Approximately)2011/12£200,428,6602012/13£222,403,8972013/14£267,970,741 The staffing levels of the High Net Worth Unit in HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last four years were:   YearFTEs2010-113832011-123582012-133722013-14380

Minimum Wage: Newham

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many notices of underpayment have been issued to businesses in the London Borough of Newham for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage in each of the last six years; and how many employees were covered in each case.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations for National Minimum Wage non-payment have resulted in the issue of a notice of underpayment in each month since October 2013.

Mr David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, HMRC undertake targeted enforcement on employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW. HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions, constituencies or county. Work relating to a specific geographical area is not always done by the NMW team based in that area. Additionally, notices of underpayment are issued to a company's head office address, but may include workers from a number of different operating sites.

Income Tax: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications of the findings of the Audit Scotland report on preparations for the implementation of the Scotland Act 2012, published in December 2014, for implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax.

Danny Alexander: HM Revenue and Customs is on track to introduce the Scottish rate of income tax in April 2016. I am pleased that the report from Audit Scotland recognises the arrangements they have made to involve the Scottish Government in decisions relating to the implementation of the Scottish rate, and HMRC and the Scottish Government will continue to work closely together to ensure smooth operation of the new provisions after introduction.

Bank Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential costs to the banking sector of changing the current seven-day period for switching bank accounts to a five-day period.

Andrea Leadsom: The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement confirmed that the Government has asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to look at the question of a 5-day switching period, as part of its current review of the switching service, and to advise on this question before Budget 2015.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs Scheme

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the new community amateur sports club rules will be simple to understand and will not increase bureaucracy for such clubs.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has decided to proceed with a new, single set of rules to apply to all clubs following detailed and lengthy consultation across the sector. A single set of rules setting out clear tests and supported by new detailed guidance will make it simpler and easier for clubs to understand and comply with their responsibilities. As such the rules are as simple as possible bearing in mind they apply to almost 100 very different sports operating in often very different ways.

Church Commissioners

Written Questions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate he has made of the savings to the Church Commissioners from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems the Church Commissioners have introduced or plan to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.

Sir Tony Baldry: For an organisation that thinks in the eternal, any time saving is transitory.

Churches: Worcestershire

Mr Robin Walker: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what grants the Church Commissioners have given to churches in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire from the church roof repair fund in the last four years.

Sir Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners are grateful to the Treasury for making the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund available to its Cathedrals alongside extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to include repairs to church roofs and rain water guttering.(a) The Cathedral at Worcester has received a total of £330,000 toward to costs of restoring its east window and to replace and weather-proof the ceiling & roof of the cathedral’s ancient library. The Cathedral successfully entered the bids for funding in rounds 1 and 2 of the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund which has so far assisted 32 of the Church of England’s Cathedrals. There is one final round to which Cathedrals both Anglican and Catholic can enter bids before the fund closes, the Church Commissioners hope the last few Cathedrals with substantial works pending who are yet to submit a bid will consider putting applications forward.(b) The fund which the Chancellor has made available within the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund has only been available since the 2014 Autumn Statement, no funding or grants for roof repairs have be available centrally prior to this. The Roof Repair Fund is not administered by the Church of England but by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, who will make decisions on grants given.  The Church of England has advised all Diocesan Advisory Commissions (who assist Parishes with advice on repairs and alterations to architecture and fabric of buildings) to encourage and assist with applications to the fund which closes on the 30th January 2015. From the Diocese of Worcester the Church of England understands 24 parish churches will apply, 7 parishes are currently on the English Heritage, ‘Heritage at Risk Register’ with a further 17 parishes in urgent need. These figures is based on initial responses, rather than formal expressions of interest. Not all parishes will be successful in their bids for assistance and each case will be judged on its merits. This fund like the WW1 Cathedrals Fund will enable the parishes to invest money into their wider community helping those in greatest need rather than spending money just keeping the building watertight.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fuel Poverty

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2014 to Question 207749, if he will estimate (a) how many households will be lifted from fuel poverty under the Energy Company Obligation between 2013 and 2015 and (b) the (i) aggregate fuel poverty gap and (ii) average individual fuel poverty gap under the Energy Company Obligation between 2013 and 2015.

Amber Rudd: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) has recently been extended to 2017. The ECO Impact Assessment published on-line covers the whole period to 2017:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-of-the-energy-company-obligation.

Renewables Obligation

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what role is played by Ofgem in the calculation and recovery of the renewable obligation certificate from customers.

Matthew Hancock: The Renewables Obligation (RO) places an obligation on UK electricity suppliers to source a specified proportion of the electricity they supply to customers from renewable sources. This proportion – called ‘the Obligation’ – is set each year by government in line with legislation. The scheme is administered by Ofgem, who issue Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to generators in relation to the renewable electricity they generate. Further details of how the scheme operates can be found on Ofgem’s website:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/renewables-obligation-ro?page=1#block-views-publications-and-updates-block.It is assumed that the cost of the RO to suppliers is passed on to consumers through their energy bills. The total cost that can be levied on consumers through the RO is controlled through DECC’s Levy Control Framework.   



Control framework for DECC levy-funded spending
(PDF Document, 183.43 KB)

Energy: Meters

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what open data requirements have been included in the implementation of smart meters.

Amber Rudd: The Smart Metering technical and security architecture is based on a suite of agreed, open standards, reflecting the Government’s strategy to facilitate the development of third party innovative solutions for consumer devices. Consumer consumption data is stored securely on the meter, rather than in any central database. Consumers can give consent to authorised third parties to access this data via the Data and Communications Company, or they can securely connect devices through their Home Area Network to access the data locally.

Power Stations

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of the dispatch period required to increase capacity at (a) nuclear, (b) combined cycle gas turbine, (c) open cycle gas turbine and (d) coal-fired power stations.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



A report by independent energy consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff commissioned by this Department considers the flexibility of coal and gas power technologies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-assessment-of-the-operation-of-coal-gas-fired-plants. The table below contains information from the report and shows indicative start up times for coal, existing and modern gas combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and large and aero-derivative open cycle gas turbines (OCGT):  TechnologyNotice to Synch* (mins)Synch to Full Load (mins)Hot StartCoalExisting Gas CCGTModern Gas CCGTGas Large OCGT80-9015152-550-10035-802515-30Warm StartCoalExisting Gas CCGTModern Gas CCGTGas Large OCGT30015152-58580-15-30Cold StartCoalExisting Gas CCGTModern Gas CCGTGas Large OCGT360-42015152-580-250190-24019015-30All StartsGas (Aero) OCGT2-54-8 *‘Notice to Synch’ is the period of prior notice that a power plant requires to be able to start up the plant to the point of synchronisation.   The current nuclear fleet is not specifically designed for load following and generally plants will operate at their full nominal load. Plants that are offline for maintenance or refuelling will not usually be available to come back on line rapidly as there are a number of safety requirements that must be observed on re-start.

Fuels: Prices

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes in the global price of oil on domestic fuel prices.

Matthew Hancock: Movements in pump prices are largely driven by crude oil prices and reduction in fuel duty. In January 2013, the Office for Fair Trading published the results of a Call for Information to investigate whether or not competition problems existed in the road fuels market.The Government believes that it is important that consumers get a fair deal and that falls in oil prices materialise into lower prices for motorists. We wrote to major fuel retailers on 7 November seeking reassurance that they were fully passing on changes in the oil price to UK consumers at pumps in full and as quickly as possible.

Travel

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.

Amber Rudd: The expenditure is set out in the table below.  2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15 (first 6 months) £(k)£(k)£(k)£(k)£(k)Taxis5051808738First class train tickets3012973Business class air travel321215167156149

Energy: Meters

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of prepayment meter customers who self-disconnected at least once in each year since 2010 and (b) total number of prepayment meter customers in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: The Department does not hold information on the number of pre-payment meter customers who self-disconnected.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of how many households in receipt of the warm home discount have requested to have it redeemed against their gas bill.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to allow households to redeem the warm home discount against the cost of their gas bill.

Amber Rudd: It is important that a scheme on the scale of the Warm Home Discount – which provides help to over 2 million households annually – can be easily and cost-effectively delivered. The current approach ensures this is the case. Having different delivery mechanisms under the scheme, for example to allow some customers to redeem their rebate against their gas bills, would increase the cost of the scheme to consumers.Data for the number of households who have requested to have their Warm Home Discount rebates redeemed against their gas bill is not available.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate his Department has made of how many households in receipt of the warm home discount have an electricity usage of less than 2,000 kWhs a year.

Amber Rudd: Data for the number of households in receipt of the Warm Home Discount and which use less than 2,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) a year is not available.

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Amber Rudd: Before 2012/13 fraud data was published within the HM Treasury Fraud Report or estimated in the National Fraud Authority Annual Fraud Indicators. From 2012/13 figures on fraud and financial error have been provided to the Cabinet Office as part of the Quarterly Data Summary returns, for Central Departments, and all Arms Length Bodies who receive over £100m public funding per annum.The reported cost of fraud and error for the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is set out in the table below.  2012-13£(k)2013-14£(k)2014-15 (6 months)£(k) DECCNDADECCNDADECCNDAFraud & Error10030000

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department has spent in each of the last five years on investigations into past terrorist incidents in Northern Ireland.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Northern Ireland Office does not conduct investigations into terrorist incidents. Investigations are a matter for the independent policing authorities.The Northern Ireland Office has funded a number of inquiries that were established by the previous government into terrorist incidents in Northern Ireland. The Billy Wright Inquiry closed in September 2010 and cost £30.5 million. The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry closed in May 2011 and cost £46.5 million. Costs for these inquiries within the period requested are set out below.In 2011, the Northern Ireland Office set up a review into the murder of Patrick Finucane, which reported in 2012 at a cost of £1.1m. Rosemary Nelson Inquiry (£) (end May 11)Billy Wright Inquiry (£) (end Aug 10)09/105,081,5014,817,83510/111,924,195692,37311/12114,725-

Parades Commission

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost has been of the operation of the Parades Commission in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The figures for PCNI expenditure for each of the last five years as reported in the 2013-14 NIO Annual Report and Accounts are provided below: Year2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14 £’000£’000£’000£’000£’000Resource 1,0081,0669341,370914Capital0002100Total1,0081,0669341,3721,014

Terrorism

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent representations she has received in regard to allegations of past collusion by representatives of the Irish government with terrorists in Northern Ireland.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland receives representations on a range of legacy matters, a small number of which have related to allegations of collusion involving the Irish Government. She has recently received correspondence from the Rt hon Member for Lagan Valley concerning the Smithwick Report and has replied advising him that she is willing to meet him to discuss the concerns he has raised.

Republic of Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Irish government about (a) parades and protests in Northern Ireland, (b) policing in Northern Ireland and (c) the economy in Northern Ireland.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland maintains regular contact with Ministers from the Irish Government. These discussions cover a wide range of issues. We remain clear, however, that under the three stranded approach, the internal arrangements for Northern Ireland are for the UK Government and NI parties alone.There continues to be strong co-operation on security between the British and the Irish Governments and when the Secretary of State met Frances Fitzgerald, the new Justice and Equality Minister following her appointment, in Dublin, she confirmed her commitment to continue cross border co-operation.

Terrorism

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with (a) former Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and (b) former Prime Ministers about the On the Run scheme and the Northern Ireland Committee inquiry into that matter.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Earlier this year the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland spoke to former Secretaries of State, Rt hon Peter Hain, Rt hon Shaun Woodward and Rt hon Owen Paterson, on a range of issues including the ‘on the runs’ scheme. The Secretary of State has not had contact with former Prime Ministers about the ‘on the runs’ scheme or the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee inquiry into that matter.

Staff

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff are employed in her Department's headquarter buildings.

Dr Andrew Murrison: My Department operates from two main offices – one in Belfast and one in London.There are a total of 135 staff employed by my Department:LocationNumber of StaffLondon45Belfast90

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) her Department and (ii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: (i) My Department has had no instances of fraud or financial error in the period since the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, and the subsequent reconfiguration of the Northern Ireland Office. My Department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010; attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost. The Departmental Annual Report and Accounts for the NIO is available on gov.uk, and includes a governance statement, and a statement on risk.(ii) My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies; Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon Member may wish to write directly to them on this matter. Contact details are provided below: Northern Ireland Human Rights CommissionContact: information@nihrc.org Parades Commission for Northern IrelandContact: info@paradescommission.org

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.

Mrs Helen Grant: The Department’s systems do not do not routinely hold this information and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Gun Sports

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) the British Olympic Association and (b) the International Olympic Committee on alternatives to the use of lead ammunition in Olympic shooting.

Mrs Helen Grant: UK Sport have confirmed that there is no record of they nor the relevant national governing bodies having spoken to the BOA or the IOC regarding the use of lead shot during the Olympic shooting events in Rio.It should be noted that at both London 2012 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, netting was used at the shooting venues to catch the shot and ensure that there was no wider environment impact.

Broadband: Government Assistance

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government has sought external legal advice on EU state aid in relation to Broadband Delivery UK and broadband rollout.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department engaged external commercial legal experts to provide legal advice on a range commercial related questions, including State aid. The external legal advisers worked with the DCMS Legal team, the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills State aid team and the UK Government representatives in Brussels to support the UK's state aid notification.

Football

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) female and (b) BME participation in football at (i) player and (ii) management level.

Mrs Helen Grant: As part of its Whole Sport Plan funding, Sport England is investing £2.4 million into a joint initiative with the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League Trust. This initiative encourages more women and girls to play football, and a further £3 million to the ‘Women and Girls' Talent Pathway programme to develop the next generation of talented female football players.As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government will also be investing £10m in facilities and coaching that will boost grassroots participation across the country. Part of this funding will go to a bursary scheme to help open up the higher tiers of coaching to more people, with a particular emphasis on female coaches, and those from BME backgrounds.I will also be bringing together key figures from across football for a meeting in the New Year to explore what more can be done to improve the numbers of ethnic minorities in leadership positions in the top tiers of English football.

Nuisance Calls

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Nuisance Calls Action Plan.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Tackling nuisance calls is a priority for the Department. We published the first ever Nuisance Calls Action Plan on 30 March 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nuisance-calls-action-plan-unveiled.This set out our achievements to date, work underway and proposed actions for the future, which included both legislative and non-legislative measures. We are currently pursuing these measures which, as a combination are beginning to make a significant difference for the benefit of consumers.

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total annual sum of payments made under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has been in each year since that scheme's inception.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme - Total Annual Payments Financial YearAnnual Totals £000s2001-021,6592002-038,4532003-048,8772004 -0510,1132005-0615,0662006-0714,2262007-0814,9572008-0916,3472009-1014,9302010-1123,3072011-127,0342012-1313,2022013-1418,581

Senior Civil Servants: Females

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of senior staff in his Department are female.

Mrs Helen Grant: 53% of senior staff in DCMS are female.

Internet

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average (a) download and (b) upload speed in (i) the UK, (ii) the Southeast, (iii) Medway and (iv) Gillingham and Rainham constituency was on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom is responsible for monitoring the UK broadband market and provides regular updates. In its Infrastructure Report published in December 2014 it reported that in June 2014 average download speed in Medway was 31.8Mbit/sand the average upload speed was 3.8Mbit/s. These compare with the UK average download speed of 23.4Mbit/s and average upload speed of 3.2Mbit/s. Information is not available at a constituency level, but is available at a postcode level at http://infrastructure.ofcom.org.uk/

Sports: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of adults in (a) Kent, (b) Medway and (c) Gillingham and Rainham constituency that have taken part in at least one sporting activity each week in each of the last five years.

Mrs Helen Grant: Sport participation data is from the Active People Survey which is the main measure of the number of people aged 16 and above taking part in sport in England. The 2013/14 data will be released in January 2015.  Gillingham and RainhamKentMedway2012/13 (APS7)n/a¹483,100 (34.3%)71,600 (33.5%)2011/12 (APS6)n/a¹465,100 (33.3%)69,600 (32.9%)2010/11 (APS5)n/a¹435,400 (32%)48,700 (23.7%)2009/10 (APS4)n/a¹444,600 (33.1%)67,100 (33%)2008/09 (APS3)n/a¹432,900 (32.4%)59,400 (29.4%)¹Sample size too small to provide figure

BBC: Northern Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the future of the BBC and the future of the licence fee.

Mr Edward Vaizey: No such discussions have taken place. The Government has said that the right time to consider all questions around the BBC is the Charter Review; this will not be starting in advance of the Election in 2015.

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2014 to Question 215926, what the gap is between availability and actual take-up of superfast broadband in both (a) percentage and (b) absolute terms.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom’s Infrastructure Report 2014 stated that the availability of superfast broadband was 75% of UK premises in June 2014, that take-up of fixed broadband was 73% of UK residential premises, and that take-up of superfast broadband was 21% of UK premises.

European Commission

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Single Market and (b) the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS ministers have not yet held meetings with the Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Single Market or the Commissioner for Digital Economy President. However, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General met the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society on 6th November to discuss, amongst other things, the digital single market. I am also looking to engage with both Commissioners early in the New Year. DCMS officials are also in regular contact with the Commission.

Television: Fees and Charges

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the risk of channel loss to viewers on a temporary basis in international content markets that have a retransmission fees regime in place.

Mr Edward Vaizey: No assessment has been made.

Fraud

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.

Mrs Helen Grant: Before 2012/13 fraud data was published within the HM Treasury Fraud Report or estimated in the National Fraud Authority Annual Fraud Indicators. From 2012/13 figures on fraud and financial error have been provided to the Cabinet Office as part of the Quarterly Data Summary returns, for Central Departments, and all ALBs who receive over £100m public funding per annum

Community Amateur Sports Clubs Scheme

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of proposed changes to rules on community amateur sports clubs on junior clubs.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the responses to the Government's consultation on community amateur sports club rules.

Mrs Helen Grant: The proposed changes to the Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) regime will ensure a robust and compliant system is in place to help grassroots clubs, including junior clubs, support those who want to play sport whilst claiming appropriate tax advantages. The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport and to providing opportunities for increased participation.

Department of Health

Gun Sports

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on human health of the use of lead ammunition for shooting.

Jane Ellison: In October 2012, the Food Standards Agency assessed the risk to human health from exposure to lead from lead bullets and shot used to shoot wild game animals.   The FSA concluded in its risk assessment that frequent consumption of game meat could increase exposure to lead. This increased exposure would be a concern in the case of toddlers, young children and pregnant women because of the neurotoxicity of lead to the developing brain.   This risk assessment is available on the FSA’s website:   http://www.foodbase.org.uk//admintools/reportdocuments/776-1-1354_Risk_assessment_for_lead_in_wild_game_-_Final_5_October.pdf

Blood: Contamination

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the average length of time for monthly payments from MFET Ltd to people who contracted HIV through their NHS treatment.

Jane Ellison: People who meet the MFET Ltd eligibility criteria receive an annual payment for the rest of their lives. The Department has made no assumptions about the average length of time that those people might live.

General Practitioners

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2014 to Question 216134, if he will bring forward proposals to replace the National Education Programme on Health at Work.

Jane Ellison: There are no plans to replace the National Education Programme on Health at Work. The Fit for Work service will deliver both a supportive occupational health assessment and general health and work advice to general practitioners as well as employees and employers.

Blood: Contamination

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maximise the coverage of testing for (a) hepatitis C and (b) other blood-borne viruses in a range of healthcare settings.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) has undertaken various activities to increase the number of people tested for blood-borne viruses (BBV) including contributing to and developing a range of guidance: - The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance to promote and offer testing for hepatitis B and C [1] - Best practice guidance on hepatitis B antenatal screening and the newborn immunisation programme [2] - NICE guidance on increasing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) [3] and Black African [4] communities in a variety of community and medical settings. - An offer of antenatal HIV screening is recommended for all pregnant women [5]. - Piloting models of service delivery and exploiting novel testing methods, including point of care testing and alternatives to venepuncture to test for HIV, hepatitis B and C in community settings. - Working collaboratively with the National Health Service and non-governmental organisations to advocate for increased uptake of screening for BBV and monitoring testing uptake of BBV in the United Kingdom [6],[7].   Notes: [1] Hepatitis B and C: ways to promote and offer testing to people at increased risk of infection; Issued: December 2012 last modified: March 2013 NICE public health guidance 43 http://publications.nice.org.uk/hepatitis-b-and-c-ways-to-promote-and-offer-testing-to-people-at-increased-risk-of-infection-ph43/considerations [2] Department of Health. Hepatitis B antenatal screening and newborn immunisation programme: Best practice guidance 2011 www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215622/dh_132637.pdf [3] Increasing the uptake of HIV testing among Men who have Sex with Men. NICE public health guidance 34 http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph34/resources/guidance-increasing-the-uptake-of-hiv-testing-among-men-who-have-sex-with-men-pdf [4] Increasing the uptake of HIV testing among black Africans in England NICE public health guidance 33 http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph33/resources/guidance-increasing-the-uptake-of-hiv-testing-among-black-africans-in-england-pdf [5] Yin Z et al. HIV in the United Kingdom 2014 Report: data to end 2013. November 2014. Public Health England, London. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/377194/2014_PHE_HIV_annual_report_19_11_2014.pdf [6] Public Health England. Hepatitis C in the UK: 2014 Report. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/337115/HCV_in_the_UK_2014_24_July.pdf [7] Public Health England. HIV in the UK: 2014 Report https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/377194/2014_PHE_HIV_annual_report_19_11_2014.pdf

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the NHS has for future support and care for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Jane Ellison: The Government’s mandate to NHS England sets out the requirement for the National Health Service to demonstrate progress on preventing people from dying prematurely from respiratory disease. NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for determining the overall national approach to achieve this and improve clinical outcomes from healthcare services for people with respiratory disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).   In December 2013, NHS England published Our Ambition to Reduce Premature Mortality: A resource to support commissioners in setting a level of ambition. This resource sets out the high impact interventions that CCGs can commission to improve outcomes for people with physical health conditions such COPD and asthma. This resource has information on the treatment and management of COPD and refers and links to the Outcomes Strategy for COPD and Asthma and its Companion Document.   The resource can be found at:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/sop/red-prem-mort/

Ministers' Private Offices

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) external and (b) civil service appointees worked in ministerial offices in his Department (i) between May 2005 and May 2010 and (ii) since May 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the table below, in terms of headcount of individuals:Joining PeriodCvil Service Appointees or External ?May 2005 to May 2010Since May 2010External4340Civil Service Starter82Total5142

Campylobacter: Northern Ireland

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive regarding campylobacter in poultry.

Jane Ellison: The UK Food Standards Agency, which is the lead agency for Campylobacter has been in regular contact with relevant departments in each of the four nations through their national offices. Ministers have not spoken to their Northern Ireland counterparts about Campylobacter.

Tobacco: Packaging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what detailed opinions have been submitted by organisations and corporate entities in response to the notification to the UK by the EU on proposals for standardised packaging of tobacco.

Jane Ellison: The draft regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco were notified to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive (Directive 98/34/EC) on 29 August. This procedure allows other member states and the European Commission to examine the draft regulations and provide comments or detailed opinions. The notification and information about which member states responded can be found at:   http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2014&num=427

Nurses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2014 to Question 216783, if he will make a comparative assessment of the cost effectiveness of (a) attracting qualified nurses who are no longer nursing back into nursing and (b) training nurses from scratch.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent estimates that the average cost of training a nurse in 2013 was £78,604. This figure reflects the total cost of training and therefore includes costs funded through the public purse and by the student.   The cost of retraining a nurse varies because each programme is adapted to the individual needs of the nurse. However, Health Education England (HEE) estimates that the average cost to them to support each nurse back into practice is £2,000. This does not include any costs to the student. In addition, HEE has spent £50,000 on a recent social media campaign to attract nurses back to practice. This campaign has resulted in 779 nurses registering to undertake a return to practice programme in the next three months.

Buildings

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what building refurbishments have been carried out by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies since May 2010; what the cost was of each such refurbishment by category of expenditure; what building refurbishments are planned by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies; and what the estimated cost of each such refurbishment is.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



As part of the transition to the new Health and Social Care system a number of new organisations were established as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. This has required the Department to improve and update its buildings to accommodate these new organisations within its own buildings thus maximising efficiency and effectiveness without purchasing expensive new buildings. We have also taken the opportunity to deliver a number of improvements to our lighting, heating and cooling systems which will make our buildings more energy efficient and help towards delivering our Greener Government targets.   In 2009-10 the total cost of the estate was £183,132,952 this was reduced to £121,697,625 in 2012-13. We have also reduced our space occupancy from 14.2 square metres (sqm) per full time equivalent (FTE) to 11.6 sqm per FTE in 2012-13 and are on target to reduce this to below 10 sqm per FTE during 2015-16.   Expenditure on office refurbishment undertaken by the Department and its non-departmental public bodies since May 2010 is attached. Refurbishment costs relate to the general fit out, improvement and provision of furniture and equipment and excludes building repair and maintenance. It is not possible to provide a more detailed background of each item by category of expenditure without incurring disproportionate costs. Partial information for non-departmental public bodies can only be provided as some of this data is not available.   Estimated expenditure on Building refurbishments that are planned by the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is attached. 



Expenditure on office & building refurbishments
(Word Document, 28 KB)

Drinks: Sugar

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the physiological and social effects of consumption of high sugar energy drinks on children who are in full-time education.

Jane Ellison: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for the safety of high caffeine drinks. The FSA advises that children and other people who are sensitive to caffeine should consume caffeine only in moderation. Recent changes to labelling require that high caffeine drinks must now state that they are not recommended for children.   Whilst caffeine has short-term effects on the heart rate and blood pressure, there are no long-term effects. Additionally there is no evidence of a direct, long-term link between caffeine consumption and altered behaviour.   The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is currently evaluating the safety of caffeine and is considering whether recommended intake levels for the general population, or sub groups such as children should be established. The FSA will consider the final EFSA opinion once it is published early next year.

Asthma

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ensure that everyone diagnosed with asthma has a written asthma action plan by 2015.

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will work with NHS England to ensure that a national clinical audit is carried out into services for people with asthma.

Jane Ellison: The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2015-16 says that everyone with a long term condition should be offered a personalised care plan.   In February 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its asthma quality standard, which covers the diagnosis and treatment of asthma in adults, young people and children aged 12 months and older. The quality standard sets out that people with asthma should receive a written personalised action plan.   NHS England is statutorily required to have regard to NICE quality standards and it is responsible for taking forward the implementation of the quality standard on asthma.   Asthma services are being considered by NHS England and The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership as one of a number of potential new areas for audit. However, no final decision has been taken as to whether a new National Clinical Audit for Asthma will be commissioned.

Air Travel

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on business class flights since May 2010.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Holding answer received on 15 December 2014



The Department books the following classes of flights; economy, premium economy, and business class. Economy class is the default booking and an approved business case is required to book business class. If a flight is upgraded free of charge to business class, a business case is not required, although the management information will record a business class flight was taken. The total amount spent on business class flights is £470,038 from May 2010 to 31 March 2014. In comparison equivalent spend between 2005 and 2010 was £2,828,263.   This represents a reduction of £2,358,225 on the previous five years’ spend.

Autism

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many local authorities have an autism strategy.

Norman Lamb: This information is not recorded centrally. Local joint commissioning plans for services for adults with autism should be developed and updated based on effective joint strategic needs assessment. The second national Public Health England self-assessment exercise reported on progress being made by the end of September 2013 across all 152 local authority areas in England.  Details can be found at:   www.ihal.org.uk/projects/autism2013   The exercise is a key means of identifying progress in implementing the strategy as a whole and for demonstrating local accountability. The most recent exercise started on 12 December 2014 for completion by 9 March 2015.

Bladder Cancer: Drugs

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Anti-PD-L1 drug in treating bladder cancer.

George Freeman: Two Anti-PD monoclonal antibody products are being evaluated in clinical trials for various cancers, including bladder cancer.   MPDL3280A, an anti-PD-L1 antibody made by Roche/Genentech, is undergoing a phase I trial (NCT01375842) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumours. The estimated study completion date is November 2016. The product is also being tested in a phase II trial in in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial bladder cancer (NCT02108652). The estimated completion date for this Phase II trial is January 2016.   The second anti-PD antibody is Nivolumab produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Nivolumab on its own, or in combination with another monoclonal antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy®), is in a phase I/II trial in several cancers, including bladder cancer (NCT01928394). This trial is expected to be completed by March 2017.   No assessment of the data from any of these trials has been made to date.

Internet

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many investigations have taken place into each type of alleged misuse of internet resources at his Department in (a) each year since 2010 and (b) 2014 to date; and whether such investigations resulted in disciplinary action or dismissal.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department has carried out fewer than five investigations of alleged misuse of internet resources in each of the years between 2010 and 2014 (to date). No investigations have led to any Departmental staff being dismissed.

Tobacco: Packaging

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the detailed responses from EU Member States to the UK's notification to the EU of proposed regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco products.

Jane Ellison: The draft regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco were notified to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive (Directive 98/34/EC) on 29 August 2014. 11 member states provided detailed opinions in response to the United Kingdom notification. These detailed opinions are now being considered carefully. The UK will respond to the detailed opinions in due course, as specified by the Technical Standards Directive.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to ensure the routine availability of raloxifene to reduce the risk of breast cancer developing in high-risk women.

George Freeman: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) on 19 November 2014 to Question 213936.

Medical Treatments

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has any plans to allow two Patient Access Schemes for one treatment; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing two Patient Access Schemes for one treatment; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: Whilst we recognise there are benefits to be derived from Patient Access Schemes (PAS), both the 2009 and 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Schemes (PPRS), negotiated with the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry, set out that PAS should be the exception rather than the rule. It is important that PAS are operationally manageable for the National Health Service, and any burden for the NHS should be proportionate to the benefits of the PAS for the NHS and patients.   The 2009 and 2014 schemes set out the Department’s and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s commitment to ensure that the cumulative burden on all parties involved in the operation of PAS is manageable. The PPRS recognises that it is reasonable for the Department to take this issue into account when considering the viability of individual PAS proposals.   The 2014 PPRS states that the Department is unlikely to agree more than one PAS for a single product because of the complexity this would introduce for the NHS.

Maternity Services

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions maternity units at each (a) NHS trust and (b) NHS foundation trust were put on divert in the last 12 months.

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for how many days maternity units at each (a) NHS trust and (b) NHS foundation trust were put on divert in the last 12 months.

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many days maternity units at each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Foundation were put on divert in the last 12 months.

Dr Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.

Drugs: Licensing

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many breast cancer clinicians his Department met directly when developing its position on the Off-patent Drugs Bill.

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many breast cancer clinicians he spoke to directly when developing his policy on the Off-patent Drugs Bill.

George Freeman: In developing our response to the Bill, we have taken advice from a number of cancer clinicians including breast cancer specialists and from officials at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and taken account of views expressed by other stakeholder organisations.

Autism: Children

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Health Education England monitors the quality of child autism awareness training in NHS hospital emergency departments; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) provides national direction and leadership on high quality healthcare education and training, working with regulators, Royal Colleges and other stakeholders on curricula to ensure that the NHS workforce provides the highest standards of care for patients, including children and young people. The content and standard of healthcare professional training is the responsibility of the regulators, which are independent statutory bodies. They have the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that students and newly qualified professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. The Emergency Medicine curriculum is designed by the College of Emergency Medicine, within standards set by the independent regulator, the General Medical Council. It contains explicit requirements to be aware of the impact of any chronic illness or disability on the presentation and management of patients in the Emergency Department. All Emergency physicians are required to be trained to level 3 safeguarding skills which encompasses being cognisant of these conditions and ensuring the patient condition is fully assessed and adjustments made as required. For the employed workforce, HEE does not directly control the Continued Professional Development activity of specialist staff but does, however, spend approximately £215 million per year on activities which together are termed as ‘workforce development’.

Ambulance Services

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the staffing level was for each ambulance trust in (a) May 2010, (b) May 2014 and (c) the latest month for which figures are available.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre publish monthly workforce statistics, which include numbers of staff in ambulance trusts. The data for May 2010, May 2014 and September 2014, which is the latest month for which figures are available, is in the attached table. 



Number of staff in ambulance trusts 2010 & 2014
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.09 KB)

Cancer: Drugs

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions his Department has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence about that body conducting a technology appraisal for raloxifene in the chemoprevention indication.

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence about a technology appraisal for tamoxifen in the chemoprevention indication.

George Freeman: In June 2013 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued an updated clinical guideline on familial breast cancer which includes recommendations on the use of tamoxifen and raloxifene outside their licensed indications for the prevention of cancer in specific groups of women at high and moderate risk of breast cancer.   NICE’s clinical guidelines represent best practice and we expect commissioners to take their recommendations into account when designing services and making commissioning decisions for their healthcare population.   Our assessment is that, as NICE has already provided guidance on the use of tamoxifen and raloxifene, there would be little value in NICE separately appraising these drugs for the prevention of breast cancer and we have had no discussions with NICE on this issue.

Health: Screening

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP-requested (a) chest x-ray, (b) non-obstetric ultrasound, (c) flexi-sigmoidoscopies, (d) colonoscopies and (e) brain MRIs took place in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not available in the format requested.   A breakdown of the number of diagnostic tests requested by general practitioners (GPs) is not collected separately. Information is collected on the number of diagnostic tests requested by all referrers, including GPs, and is shown in the table below.   Number of non-obstetric ultrasounds, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy and MRI tests, 2009-10 to 2013-14   YearNumber of Non-obstetric ultrasounds testsNumber of Flexible sigmoidoscopytestsNumber ofColonoscopytestsNumber of MRItests2009-105,073,625197,342315,6571,895,8422010-115,353,578200,462324,4292,035,4402011-125,592,035217,767360,4432,192,5112012-135,918,780232,674399,6372,407,4412013-146,314,999228,756401,2782,667,286   Source: Monthly diagnostic waiting times and activity, NHS England

General Dental Council

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received on the Professional Standards Authority's 2014 report on the General Dental Council.

Dr Daniel Poulter: As at 15 December 2014 the Department has received one representation about the Professional Standards Authority's 2014 report on the General Dental Council (GDC), which was from the British Dental Association regarding the competence of the GDC. My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Quality (Earl Howe), provided a response on 28 July 2014 and I provided a response on 1 August 2014.